Jamboree’s the vehicle for rides, races

WALLACE – Sharon Tirpik could have been boot-scootin’ with celebrities and other well-to-do residents at the swanky Black Rock Development on Lake Coeur d’Alene on Saturday.

The Burke Canyon woman had been invited by her line-dancing instructor to teach a class at Black Rock this weekend, but Tirpik turned it down so she could volunteer at the 2005 ATV Jamboree in Wallace.

“They said there might be movie stars there,” Tirpik said. “I said I’d rather be here. I like the real people.”

Some at the ATV Jamboree were stars in their own right. Like 10-year-old Evie Showalter from Kalama, Wash.

Friday she took first place in the mud bog and sled pull competitions. Saturday she was taking another shot at the top prizes in the drag race and barrel racing events.

“She does really well,” said her dad, Craig Showalter. When Evie was 8 months old, he crafted a special harness so he could carry Evie on his chest as he rode his ATV. At 2 1/2, she started riding on her own.

She’s on her second ATV, a bright red Honda 90. With her long, blond ponytail hidden beneath a silver and purple helmet, Evie readied herself for the barrel races on Saturday as her dad gave her some last-minute advice.

“Stay on the right side of the last one and come straight across,” he said.

As ATV riders of all ages and sizes tore around the barrels, dirt and gravel sprayed in all directions. Racers waited in line to compete, cheering on one another and shouting out an occasional, good-natured jab.

“This is a barrel race, not a barrel push,” an onlooker yelled as a racer knocked over two out of three barrels.

The annual jamboree is sponsored by Wallace’s High Mountain ATV Association. Several members of the club and the Backcountry ATV club in Coeur d’Alene volunteered to run the competitions, races and trail rides throughout the Silver Valley.

Jack Rupp, vice president of High Mountain ATV, said there were no accidents to report, only a few broken-down machines. Throughout the weeklong event, which wrapped up this weekend, three to five group rides left from Wallace each day.

“We try to include all of the little communities around us,” Rupp said.

One ride ended at Murray, where riders panned for gold. Another wound up with a tour at the Crystal Gold Mine just east of Kellogg.

Though many rides were geared for the entire family, Rupp said there were also rides for advanced riders, including an extreme Mad Man ride. This year was also the first they offered a night ride.

The jamboree draws riders from all over the country, Rupp said. They’ve had a lot of participants from Washington state and from as far away as New York.

For the Showalters, it was the third year they drove from their home, 20 miles north of Portland, to Wallace for the annual event.

“This is one of the closer, bigger jamborees,” Ian Showalter said. “A lot of people own horses or have other hobbies. This is just something else that provides time with the family.”