Snowmobilers in scores gather for Mansfield Sportsman Poker Run

MANSFIELD – A day unfit for man or beast was weather made to order for a group of hardy snowmobilers who found their way to the Mansfield Sportsman Club for the annual Poker Run last Saturday, Jan. 27.
Navigating poor visibility and icy road conditions, sled drivers by the score descended on club headquarters located about one-half mile west of Mansfield on State Route 172. Once arrived, riders signed up for the four-stop circuit that took them west from the clubhouse to the crest of McNeil Canyon, then north a distance and back to the starting point.
Signups began at 9 a.m. and cost $20 per poker hand with $5 for each extra card.
Along the route riders picked up poker cards to see who would finish the course with the best hands. Cash prizes were awarded for the top three hands.
Last year the event drew some 80 riders who purchased 96 poker hands, said club member Jesse Shafer. The gathering has attracted as many as 200 riders in past events.
There are always more needs than there is money to go around, but Shafer said most of the proceeds go to community causes.
A good portion every year to Dollars for Scholars and North Central Washington Fair for 4H and FFA support,” said Shafer. “Waterville FFA is coming up every other Saturday for trap shoot practice so it helps offset the cost of targets for them.”
Club members hope to apply a small part of the proceeds to help maintain the pioneer- era school building that members moved to its current site in 1945 to begin a new life as club headquarters.
“We’ve got to get some electrical work done,” said club president Norm Tupling. “If you run a couple things in the kitchen and got the trap lights on and you’re running the trap machines, breakers start poppin’.”