Firecracker Frenzy 2024
July 5, 6 & 7, 2024
6 months of planning, 23.1 miles walked, 3 trailer loads, grand entry with 19 flags, 95 riders, 1,235 rides, 3 team events, 1 match race, 66 awards & $35,000 going back to our riders! Wow, what an amazing weekend! Firecracker Frenzy 2024 did not disappoint! First & foremost, I need to thank our amazing board of directors. Without their help none of this would be possible. Jeff, Dennis, Austin, Beth, Lori, Beth, Amy, Candace, Shelby, Catherine, Shannon, Cindy & Honami. These folks worked all weekend to make your Firecracker Frenzy the best it could be!
Our Saturday started out with our grand entry pageant of flags. Your flag carriers were:
American Jennifer Galindo-Cole
California Caylee Lau
Army Elliana Kamath
Marine Alexis Bozarth
Navy Rylin Martin
Air Force McKaela Danze
Coast Guard Amber Stites
POW/MIA Catarina Carranza
Armed Forces Holly Machado
Thin Line Maycee Mullins
Police June Sousa
Fire Kelsey Tarasco
Dispatch Ava Rendon
Corrections Marley Clarkson
Security Brooke Mullins
EMS Ava Rendon
MCSP Lisa Jewett
TCR Amy Alford
American #2 Farrah Botto
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Thank you ladies for representing our country and our first responders!
We ran 7 events on Saturday & were done by 3:30. We got to move on to team events! In the Ribbon Race we allowed riders to select their partners, we had 21 teams trying to make it to the pole & back without breaking the ribbon. Our Ribbon Race winners are…..1st place Lisa Jewett & Amber Stites 2nd place Ava Rendon & Devon Naegele. Fox & Hound Speed Barrels was next. This event puts randomly drawn riders together & is always a crowd favorite. Your 2024 Fox & Hound winners are….1st place Wendi Silva & Jennifer Galindo-Cole. 2nd place Kaylee Naegele & Ava Rendon. Lastly we added a new event for 2024, The Cowhide Race. Now, this was exciting. We had so many spectators cheering each time on & even the arena judge & announcers getting in on the fun. Your Cowhide Race winners are Farrah Botto & Rylin Martin with 2nd going to Shylah Ayzman & Amber Stites! After everyone freshened up we headed over to the BBQ(Thank you MCSP). The Spit N Mud Band entertained us while the kids ran stick horse races. By 9:30 almost everyone was back at their camps prepping for Sunday!
Sunday morning brought us some much-needed fog! Being Salinas, it never gets as warm as it does inland, but it was what we call “Salinas Hot.” We quickly ran our remaining 6 events so we could have our SPEED BARREL MATCH RACE! Our top 16 qualifiers for 2024 were:
Jennifer Galindo-Cole
Elliana Kamath
Lisa Jewett
Devon Naegele
Bella Gaynor
Chloe Barnard
Kaylee Naegele
Mia Pennisi
Julia Crossen
Ava Rendon
Randy Barnard
Taron Boyles
Caylee Lau
Maddie Gaynor
Marley Clarkson
Brooke Mullins
It all came down to Devon Naegele & Elliana Kamath who happen to be cousins. Please congratulate our 2024 Firecracker Frenzy Match Race Winner (with a buckle & $200) goes to ELLIANA KAMATH & DNOs STAKE OUT!
Shannon Casci did a beautiful job on the award display. She worked all morning to make it JUST RIGHT & I have to say, it was gorgeous. (Just to recap, we hand out over 25,000 of awards at this show. We had lots of new items this year & hope everyone enjoyed the changes. ) Thank you to our sponsors who made this all possible!
We started our presentation with a thank you to all our judges who spent long hours out in the heat. We then moved on to our famous Overall Sportsman buckle. It was a unanimous decision by the board of directors naming Drew Thomas as our Overall Sportsman. He worked every single event, set up on Friday & tore down on Sunday. We appreciate all your dedication Drew!
These are your Firecracker Frenzy award winners for 2024!
Lead Liner (received a 24” trophy & a bucket of goodies from LA Hearne)
Avery Harp
Lucy Sousa
Nora Massingale
Paisley Arballo
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FC 11 & Under Rider Horse
High point Christian Bozarth Reno Tack Set/Award Bundle
Reserve Charlette Jewett Cody Yeti cup package/Bronc Halter
3rd Katartina Carranza Dakota Buckle/Neighative
4th June Sousa Molly Hide Make up Case/Red Tumbler/Reins
5th Brooke Hedberg Chex Mayatex Blanket/1st Aid Kit
6th Lauren Harp Gus Latigo & Off Billet
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FC 12 to 34 Rider Horse
High point Piper Young Cowboy Tack Set/Award Bundle
Reserve Kennedi Biondi Sophie Yeti cup package/Bronc Halter
3rd Gracey Blackwell Oscar Buckle/Neighative
4th Cadence Pechan Ginger Hide Make up Case/Red Tumbler/Reins
5th Brooke Ocallaghan Crystal Mayatex Blanket/1st Aid Kit
6th Rachal Cardini Journey Latigo & Off Billet
7th Marlee Mayfield Snickers Makeup/Vet Box
8th Holly Machado Raven Tack Bag/Samples
9th Mia Nanez Spot Hay Bag & Fly Mask
10th Eden Taylor Manny Halter/lead
11th Charlene Blackwell JoJo Hat/Cooler
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FC 35+ Rider Horse
High point Janie Strang Ranger Tack Set/Award Bundle
Reserve Joe Elliott Angel Yeti cup package/Bronc Halter
3rd Anita Simoni Sexy Buckle/Neighative
4th Ruth Piper Josie Hide Make up Case/Red Tumbler/Reins
5th Rebekah Crill Pachas Mayatex Blanket/1st Aid Kit
6th Tiffany Smith Charley Horse Latigo & Off Billet
7th Wendi Silva Elmer Makeup/Vet Box
8th Amy Alford Joe Tack Bag/Samples
9th Crystal Wilson Keystone Hay Bag & Fly Mask
10th Amber Stites Luna Halter/lead
11th Jamie Kennedy Calypso Hat/Cooler
A Division Rider Horse
High point Randy Barnard Wrangler Tack Set/Award Bundle
Reserve Farrah Botto Penny Yeti cup package/Bronc Halter
3rd Sissy Shutls Tuff Buckle/Neighative
4th Beth Arabia Charley Hide Make up Case/Red Tumbler/Reins
5th Shylah Ayzaman Duster Mayatex Blanket/1st Aid Kit
6th Patti Pollard Elvis Latigo & Off Billet
7th Hailey Thomas Willie Makeup/Vet Box
8th Giselle Meschi Commander Tack Bag/Samples.
9th Ashley Moreno Patron Hay Bag & Fly Mask
10th Jordi Larson-Sumners Dixie Halter/lead
11th Carley Rhodes Tri Hat/Cooler
AA Division Rider Horse
High point Chloe Segura Agent J Tack Set/Award Bundle
Reserve Caylee Lau Jackie Yeti cup package/Bronc Halter
3rd Julia Crossen Misu Buckle/Neighative
4th Maddie Gaynor Harley Hide Make up Case/Red Tumbler/Reins
5th Sissy Shults Levi Mayatex Blanket/1st Aid Kit
6th Kaylee Naegle Honey Latigo & Off Billet
7th Ave Rendon CeeCee Makeup/Vet Box
8th Autry Fanning Savannah Tack Bag/Samples
9th Marley Clarkson Bailey Hay Bag & Fly Mask
10th Mia Penisi Dusty Halter/lead
11th Taron Boyles Rebel Hat/Cooler
AAA Division Rider Horse
High point Jennifer Galindo Stanlee Tack Set/Award Bundle
Reserve Chloe Barnard Retro rocket Yeti cup package/Bronc Halter
3rd Devon Naegale Sadie Buckle/Neighative
4th Avery Ruddick Bonita Hide Make up Case/Red Tumbler/Reins
5th Elliana Kamath Jack Mayatex Blanket/1st Aid Kit
6th Lisa Jewett Plexus Latigo & Off Billet
7th Bella Gaynor Smokie Makeup/Vet Box
8th Jamie Rojas Stevie Tack Bag/Samples
9th Maycee Mullins Jack Hay Bag & Fly Mask
10th Brody Vieira Spookers Halter/lead
11th Lila Crigger Donkey Kid Hat/Cooler
We also had another special award which was awarded by none other then the legend herself, Joanne Galbraith! Several years ago, Joanne asked to give a special award to the most improved rider. This year it went to Lucy Sousa, one of our lead line riders. This kid is raring to be let loose on the courses next season.
Another perk of riding Firecracker Frenzy is that every single rider is entered into a saddle raffle for not 1 but 2 Galbraith Custom Saddles. This year both saddles were taken back to the same barn….Congratulations Gracey Blackwell & Maddie Gaynor with Connections Riding School!!!!
I want to thank every single volunteer who pitched in all weekend. We could not put on these shows without you. Firecracker Frenzy is quite the undertaking & it has a lot of moving parts. We want your memories of this weekend to be amazing!
Our new season starts August 17th & 18th. We have posted the dates on the website & stay tuned to our Facebook page for more updates. Until then, ride hard, ride fast, wear your helmets & hug your horses!
