Community

Do you like working with people and horses? Then think of volunteering at B.O.K. Ranch in Woodside.

Since 1985, B.O.K. Ranch has dedicated itself to providing therapeutic horseback riding lessons to individuals with special needs. The name of the ranch, "B.O.K.,” came from the initials of the names of the program’s founders; however, it also simply means "be OK!”

Therapeutic horseback riding allows students with physical, cognitive, emotional, and/or developmental disabilities to develop physical strength, balance, control, self-esteem, and self-confidence. A certified therapeutic riding instructor works with specially trained volunteers to develop and implement a riding curriculum for each student. Each rider has a teaching team during each lesson.

B.O.K. Ranch offers lessons year round at The Horse Park at Woodside, on Sand Hill Road just west of Interstate 280. Volunteers are essential to the success of B.O.K. Ranch and the teenage and adult volunteers come from many backgrounds. No prior horse experience is necessary; on-the-job training is provided. For more information call 366-2265.

Half Moon Bay ready

for giant pumpkins

Two-time defending champion and budding legend Thad Starr crushed the competition at Half Moon Bay’s Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off last year with a massive 1,528-pound Atlantic Giant, the second largest pumpkin grown in the world in 2008. Starr returns to take on the world’s greatest gourd growers in Half Moon Bay’s heavyweight championship Monday, Oct. 12, the kick-off to Half Moon Bay's world-famous Art & Pumpkin Festival which takes place Oct. 17-18.

As the sun rises in Half Moon Bay on the morning of the weigh-off, streets around town will be lined with sagging, overloaded pick up trucks crammed with massive pumpkins quietly awaiting their place of destiny in the worldwide media spotlight or the Libby’s canning factory. Their giant roots will be firmly planted in buckets of water to prevent weight-loss as fans ooh and aah at the sheer, stunning enormity of the gentle orbs.

A host of accomplished, veteran growers from throughout the west are expected to contend for the coveted title, a starring role in the Pumpkin Festival and the lions share of the prize money. With a hefty top prize of $6 per pound at stake, the pay-by-the-pound system is expected to produce first place prize money of nearly $10,000.

In all, about $20,000 in prize money will be awarded to the top 10 heaviest overall along with the top three heaviest from San Mateo County. Special prize money will be awarded to the heaviest pumpkins from California, the Half Moon Bay Coastside and the San Mateo County Farm Bureau. Beauty will share the spotlight with brawn. A special $500 prize will be awarded to the "most beautiful pumpkin” as judged by the audience based on color, shape and size.

Using forklifts and special harnesses, the monster gourds will be carefully placed on a 5-ton capacity, industrial-strength digital scale under the watchful eye of officials from the San Mateo County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office of Weights, Sealers, and Measures.

Half Moon Bay’s Weigh-Off will serve as an officially sanctioned Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC) site. The GPC is the major sanctioning body overseeing Giant Pumpkin growing competitions with more than seventy weigh-off locations throughout the world.

The official weighing will take place from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the I.D.E.S. Grounds, 735 Main Street.

The champion pumpkin, along with the top five pumpkins overall, will be on display at the Art & Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 17-18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The weigh-off will be held from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. For information on the weigh-off and festival, call 650-726-9652 or check out www.miramarevents.com.