Florida Trails Association Invades the Rez

By Susan Etxebarria

BRIGHTON — Sometimes spectacular things happen in your own backyard and you never even know it. Early in the morning on Saturday Jan. 22nd, a constant parade of RVs, trucks and trailers loaded down with camping gear and brightly colored motorcycles quietly passed the Brighton Senior Center, the residential area, and the rodeo grounds on their way to the cattle range. Something extraordinary was going to happen–but only a few knew anything about it.

It was an enormous weekend encampment that took place on approximately 700 acres on the southwest side of the Brighton cattle range. It was the Seminole Show Down, an off-road motorcycle event, sponsored by the Treasure Coast Trail Riders Association (TCTR). More than 800 Florida Trails Association (FTA) members of various statewide clubs came to race, as well as affiliate club members from as far away as Ohio.

They came to compete in a dirt bike race called a Hare Scramble, which is a race through the woods. Entry fees up to $35 per rider per race and $10 to camp helped fund the event which was organized by club volunteers.

At night, this remote part of the cattle range was lit up like a Christmas tree; during the day it was a beehive of happy, excited, moms and dads mostly, and kids everywhere. It was an otherworldly experience. Hundreds of bikers in helmets wearing the Star Trek-style racing garb turned the serene, pastoral landscape into a scene from another planet.

For the Tribal volunteers, spectators and participants—including Shane and Arica Buck on their swamp buggy, and three Brighton residents who decided to join the races—the whole event was an absolute mind-blower.

Brighton Board Representative Johnny Jones made the arrangements on behalf of the Tribe months ago and he was on watch the entire weekend.

“[The club members] came out on weekends for two months to lay out the dirt bike race course,” he said.

It was a very busy place with often two or more races going on at the same time; for example, one for the Pee Wees and another for the juniors or adults. People were walking from course to course, bikers were riding to and fro, either to the race or returning to their trailers to do repairs. Trucks hauling gear also moved slowly around the camp.

Jones said the Trail Rider’s Association paid the Tribe a $3,000 permit to use the land. The club was very excited because “they have hard time finding places to race” according to Jones.

Jones said the profits are being donated by the Seminole Board of Directors to the First Indian Baptist Academy so they can construct a basketball court for their students. Jones assisted the Tribe in the negotiations. The many conditions that were laid down were to protect the Tribe.

The TCTR had to prepare the track themselves, provide for their own sanitation, and leave the land clean of debris and in good condition. No alcohol was sold and the crowd was not unruly. FTA members abide by a code of ethics to promote and organize responsible and safe off-road motorcycle events.

It was even decided after the race that the trails in the wooded areas would remain–with the directional signs in tact–for future supervised by Tribal citizens who own quads, ATVs and dirt bikes.

The Seminole fire and rescue department were on watch both days and so were the Seminole police department. All reports were that it was a smooth ride for everyone except the riders who got a lot of bumps and bruises maneuvering the 9.6-mile course, mostly a single track trail through the woods.

Several trail riders said they were deeply grateful to Johnny Jones and the Tribal administration that allowed them to race at Brighton. It turned out to be a mutual admiration society. The Tribal citizens loved the polite, friendly, and orderly crowd. Several bikers said they loved the reservation and the people they met.

“Everyone says they hope we can come back,” said David Smith, who organized the event for TCTR. “They loved the central location in the state, the land is spectator friendly. It was absolutely great working with the Tribe.”

Smith said they signed a lot of paperwork to get the permit. He said there was some apprehension about allowing a bikers rally, but he assured the Tribe this was a real family-oriented event.

“We really love being here,” said Johnny Simpkin, a professional sports photographer. “This is a big open area and riding areas like this are getting hard to find.”

Tribal citizens who want to see some of the action in the woods in photos can go to Simpkin’s website at www.johnnyjpeg.com where they will be able to view nearly 3,000 photos of the race.

Tribal citizens J.R. Huff and Mary Jo Billie were serving up fantastic food at their food booths Saturday with lines of hungry people never ceasing. It seems there could have been more booths or vendors for this busy crowd.

That is one of the things Jones said he wanted to see–What kind of possibilities exist for the Tribe and the Tribal citizens to make money?

“Lots of the community came out to check it out or rode by,” Jones said. “They didn’t know something like this could happen.”

One unexpected result was that three Brighton residents joined the Florida Trails Association and raced for the first time in their lives. One was 22-year-old Johnny Jones Jr., who said he had a blast. Another was Joe Olivarez who rode in the quad Series. His wife, Claudia and their kids cheered on the sidelines for their dad, who said the ride “was fun, it was exciting.”