Jim River Riders Saddle Club offers opportunities for riders of all ages

Aberdeen citizens and surrounding community members founded Jim River Riders Saddle Club (JRR) in 1985 to promote horse and horsemanship in the family and the community by holding horse shows and trail rides and helping with local events. Riders are divided into groups (beginner, Jr. Jr., junior, senior, and Sr. Sr.) according to age and skill level to give everyone a safe place to practice riding and an opportunity to learn new skills. JRR uses professional judges who help riders learn the art of horse riding. JRR has a completely new board of directors who are dedicated to keeping JRR going. Cody Braun, president, strives to provide safe, fun, family-friendly events for everyone to enjoy and to provide an opportunity for riders to come and practice for larger show venues.

On behalf of the new board, JRR has several exciting new things to announce. (1) Our shows will now feature a Tack Swap Meet where riders bring new and used tack to sell or trade. (2) In an effort to keep the club alive, we are selling JRR T-shirts in adult and youth sizes at and outside of the shows. (3) A new, interactive website is setup for you to visit at JimRiverRiders.org. (4) Our new Facebook page can be found by searching Jim River Riders.

JRR open point horse shows include a variety of events for riders to enjoy including showmanship, ride a buck, leadline, walk-trot, western pleasure, English pleasure, barrel racing, pole bending, keyhole, and other fun events. The 80% payout events include reining, western riding, egg and spoon, and trail. JRR features two new events this year: jack benny walk trot and goat tying.

JRR horse shows are hosted in the Joe Akkerman Arena at the Brown County Fairgrounds in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The 2015 shows are scheduled for the Sundays of June 14, July 12 and August 9 with a weather make-up date of Sunday, September 12. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and must conclude by 8:45 a.m. for the first event. The shows begin promptly at 9 a.m. and continue until all events are complete.

All ages are welcome to participate and to watch. As a way for JRR to give back to the community, Safe Harbor will be serving food and drinks during the shows. The proceeds will go toward their capital campaign. We look forward to growing JRR with you!