MOUNTAIN VIEW — The fourth annual Bridger Valley SWOT Poker Run took place on Saturday, Aug. 17, in Mountain View. The event, a joint project among Southwest Wyoming Off-road Trails (SWOT), the American Legion and the Town of Mountain View, included a 90-mile ride, lunch and raffle drawings for prizes.

The event is a fundraiser for the American Legion Post 36 in Fort Bridger and SWOT. Close to 50 machines and almost 100 riders attended the poker run, with several Jeeps and motorbikes joining the event.

The last stop of the run was canceled and moved to the town park due to thundershowers and lightning. The path of this year’s run left from Mountain View and headed on county roads toward the Badlands and Cedar Mountain, before crossing over the state highway and heading up into the forest.

Sadie Rabold, who had the winning poker hand, said, “It was fun with a lot of energy. Even though it rained, it made the whole day fun.”

Rabold’s prize for the best hand was $1,000 cash.

“It was very cool,” she said. “I didn’t expect to win that much. It was really awesome.”

Ben Burr, executive director for Blue Ribbon Coalition, joined the event and spoke briefly at the dinner about the legal fight to keep motorized access on public lands.

“Outdoor recreation is about exploring new places, meeting new people and getting a little dirty in the process,” Burr said. “When we connect to public lands, it increases our desire to keep them open. I love organizations like SWOT. They’re strengthening their community, bringing economic growth to southwestern Wyoming, and educating their supporters to be strong advocates of our public lands.”

Dave Rand from the American Legion said, “Everyone loved being out there in the mud and the rain, the event was great and everyone had a good time.”

Mountain View Mayor Brian Ayers weighed in on the event as well.

“The Town of Mountain View really appreciates all of the work that SWOT has put into getting the ORV trail system opened up,” Ayers said. “The poker run is a great opportunity to showcase the trails, along with our community, to the public.”

The poker run committee also had a raffle for which winners were drawn after the dinner. The winner of a cooler and $250 in meat from Benedicts was Terry Brimhall. The winner of the Traeger grill, donated by Jeff and Tracy Jones, was Johnetta Heltz; and the winner of a Yamaha 450 ATV from Addicted Motorsports was Alice Gebhart, who said she was in shock when it was announced she was the winner.

“I want to thank SWOT for putting on the ride.” she said.