Ride the Ridge, the largest horseback trail ride in the Panhandle, returns for its 22nd edition this coming Saturday with a trio of shorter rides at Fort Robinson State Park after a one-year absence.

The Outriders, the group that organizes and leads Ride the Ridge, cancelled last year’s event…citing the age of its members.

Longtime spokesman and retired county extension agent Don Huls says the decision proved to be wise in two ways: it led a number of new and younger members to join the Outriders and avoided a hot, dry, and fire-plagued summer.

The 9:00 ride leaves from Soldier Creek Road 4 miles past the Fort Robinson Mare Barn and will cover 5-to-6 miles, returning for lunch.

Both the 1:00 and 5:00 rides will leave from the Mare Barn. The 1:00 ride will also cover 5-to-6 miles, but in the Mexican Canyon area, while the 5:00 ride is a GPS Poker Run event.

Huls says the Outriders have gone back into their past and named a pair of past trail bosses to lead all 3 of this year’s rides: Tom Walters of Marsland and Orville “OJ” Dau of Chadron.

The Outriders have traditionally named honorary trail bosses to recognize individuals who’ve supported or helped organize past rides, and that holds true this year.

Candy Hewitt and her daughter Shylee were chose in honor of their late husband and father Dave Hewitt, a longtime employee of Fort Robinson who helped logistically with many past rides.

Ride the Ridge was begun to publicize the trail riding opportunities in Dawes County and to rally support for creating the proposed Pine Ridge Trail…which would cross private, state, and federal land to link Chadron State Park with Fort Robinson.

It’s free, although a Nebraska State Park sticker is needed. There’s no registration required and riders of all ages and pretty much all experience welcome. Ride the Ridge drew upwards of 300 riders in its heyday, but rising fuel prices and a down economy held numbers to around 100 or less its last few times out.