Are you ready for some spooktacular fun? Dust off the cobwebs and sharpen those scary pencils. Once again, The Wanderer is hosting three Halloween contests to get you into the Halloween spirit!

Contest 1 – The Halloween Story Contest – Write a story, and maybe even win a prize! During the month of October, The Wanderer prints Halloween stories submitted by our readers and the writer of the best story wins a $250 gift certificate to any of our display advertisers!

The deadline for the story contest is Friday, October 9 at noon, in order to give our judges enough time to read the entries. Stories will be printed in the October 15, 22, & 29 editions of The Wanderer. The winner will also be announced in the October 29 edition.

Contest 2 – The Halloween Cover Contest – Your best Halloween artwork could be on the cover of The Wanderer and you could win a great prize! Submit your best original Halloween drawing, photo, compilation or artwork to enter for publication on our October 29 cover.

Deadline for submitting artwork is Friday, October 16 at noon. Online voting will take place from October 18 to October 26. The cover winner will win a $250 gift certificate to any of our display advertisers and his or her artwork will be on the October 29 cover of The Wanderer!

Contest 3 – Facebook Photo Contest – Gather up your best Halloween Photo and submit it to us at support@wanderer.com by November 3. We’ll be posting them on Facebook and letting everyone choose the top photos. The top winners will all receive a special yet-to-be-determined prize! Stay tuned at www.facebook.com/wanderer.

The Fine Print – All entries must include a signed copy of the Official Entry Form, which can be picked up at The Wanderer office, 55 County Road, Mattapoisett. Entry forms can also be downloaded at www.Wanderer.com (click on “Halloween Contest”).

All entries must be original. Stories must be previously unpublished and cover entries must contain completely original artwork and/or photos. No copied items, including traced clip art, will be considered for the contest. All stories must be accompanied by an electronic version (preferably in Word format emailed to: support@wanderer.com). A full list of rules and regulations can be found at www.Wanderer.com. For more information, call our office at 508-758-9055.

Seven equestrian student riders belonging to Seahorse Farm in Mattapoisett headed to Hanover on Sunday, September 20, to compete at the Special Olympics Massachusetts (SOMA) South Shore Equestrian Tournament held at Briggs Stables.

Horseback riding teacher Julie Craig provides lessons to her regular students – ranging in age from 9 to 64 years old – at her Mattapoisett farm, which is also the location of the Helping Hands and Hooves nonprofit organization that provides horseback riding lessons and therapy sessions to adults with special needs.

Craig has been taking her students to compete in the SOMA Equestrian Games for eight years now, assisted by Debbi Dyson, Craig’s partner with Helping Hands and Hooves. Craig said she urges the families of her special students to enter the students in the Special Olympics competition because the experience benefits her students in a variety of ways.

“It gives them an opportunity to get dressed up in the official gear and go out there and compete on a level playing field,” said Craig. “They experience the butterflies in the bellies before they compete, and the pride of finishing what they set out to do.”

Craig said the Special Olympics tournament is a highlight of the year for her, and she considers it a gift to be able to run alongside her students on that day and offer them the chance to compete and show off their skills.

“To see my students standing on the podium winning their medals with huge smiles on their faces, and watching them congratulate other competitors and hugging their families after they are done,” said Craig. “That is what it’s all about!”

Along with the families watching their special loved ones compete, Craig said she too chokes back tears all morning as she watches her students with pride as they give it their all, have fun competing, and cheer each other on.

Craig said she has seen the powerful bond between the horses and her students. It is an emotional experience, she said, to witness the bonding between them, and she feels blessed to have that in her life.

“I have always found horses amazing and, now in the years that I have been working with people with disabilities, I see how incredibly amazing they are too,” said Craig. “The obstacles they overcome and just keep going, often without complaint, truly inspires me.”

All the Seahorse Farm students placed in the top three of their class, with 9 year-old Ruby Shield taking home two gold medals in her classes.

Twelve year-old Diego Perry won a gold medal in the Class 4 walk/trot/posting trot/two-point position competition, and the silver in the trail obstacle course class.

“I like going to the obstacle course. It was easy because I could do everything,” said Perry. “You had to make a circle, pick up a beanbag, then go across the poles, through the pumpkins and to the flowers. Then you go around a circle and drop off the beanbag.”

During the opening ceremony, two officers (and their horses) from the Plymouth County Sheriff’s Department Mounted Police led the parade of athletes, while Ruby Shield walked in front holding a small electronic version of the torch. The Olympics theme song played in the background as the athletes passed the road lined with friends and family and made their way towards the ring.

“Briggs Stables and our staff consider it an honor to be able to host the Special Olympics,” said Briggs Stables owner John Doherty. “I’d like to thank everyone for coming and supporting this endeavor.”

In addition to Ruby and Diego, the other Seahorse Farms participants at the Special Olympics were Ian Craig, 15, bringing home two bronze medals; Susan Demsey, 64, winning a silver and bronze; Renee DeLoid, 40, taking silver and bronze; Brendan Goss, 48, winning a gold and a silver; and Andrea Rapoza, 27, who won two gold medals.

By Jean Perry

Every year for the past six years, those who knew the late Brad Barrows gather at the former “Brad’s” at 35 County Road to honor and remember its past owner with a ride around town to raise money for a cause that was important to Barrows – kids participating in youth sports.

Dick Barrett helps organize the event each year, and on the morning of the September 19 event, Barrett was where he always is – directing registered riders on their motorcycles into a line formation as they arrived. Barrett remembered six years ago when they held the very first Brad Barrows Ride to raise money for local youth sports organizations.

“We just got together one day … me, Peter Collins and Rory McFee,” said Barrows. “We just decided we should do a fundraiser for the youth sports in Brad’s name.”

Ever since then, the event attracts around 60 to 70 people upon roughly 40 motorcycles of all sizes, colors, makes, and models. Many of those riders, said Barrett, return to ride every year.

Just about nothing has changed since that first ride, except for how the group plans to distribute the money this year. Instead of simply sending out checks to different local sports organizations such as the sailing program, little league, and other sports, this year the group will invite those individual families who need help funding their child’s sports participation to come forward. Barrett said he will be placing a press release in The Wanderer announcing when funds will be available and urging those who need the funding most to contact the group.

Barrett said Barrows was always volunteering his time and sponsoring local youth sports programs, and his spirit of giving is what drives this ride year after year.

“He was always involved,” said Barrett. “That’s why we did it in his name. He was a great guy. He was well-loved by everybody in town.”

By Jean Perry