SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1525626
ALL ABOUT THE KIDS The Matlock Family Organizes UTV Rides To An Orphanage In Mexico By Dan Sanchez Photos by Get Some Photo The original intent of SCORE Baja races, according to former owner Sal Fish, was to bring families together to race. However, they also intended to give the participants time to enjoy and get to know the beauty, culture, and people of Mexico. Over the decades, many racing families have embraced Mexico this way and have a deep place in their hearts for the country and its people. SCORE Champion UTV racers Wayne and Kristen Matlock are among the many racing families who have come to love Mexico and its people in this way. According to Kristen, the family began visiting even before she and Wayne were married. While vacationing and enjoying the countryside has become an annual tradition for family and friends, she took these trips to the next level. “Wayne’s parents started coming down to Mexico, organizing events for family and friends to enjoy the off-road trails, hang out on the beaches, and fish,” said Kristen Matlock. “This started around 2000 and I met Wayne in 2001, so these trips have been going on now for 24 years. After Wayne and I got married, I helped his mom and dad organize it and eventually, around 2014 I took the project over. Fast forward to about five years ago, I felt we needed to do something more with it, and decided we should give back to Baja somehow.” Kristen began researching the places they usually visit to start a charity ride and to deliver collected donations in person. “I wanted to be able to go and be there physically, not just gather donations and ship them,” she said. “I found the Foundation For His Ministry, a Christian orphanage in Vicente Guerrero, only 20-30 minutes North from where we usually travel to in San Quintín. I wanted to donate to a place that didn’t get as much attention from people and get them the support they needed.” The Kids That Make It Worthwhile Run by a group of Christians, the orphanage is made up of children of all ages. “It’s a very cool place. They not only educate the kids, but they also teach them the basics of running a business,” said Matlock. “There is a small coffee shop there and the teenagers there work in the shop and do everything to run that business. Some graduate and move on while others stay and want to help the orphanage and become employees.” Now in its fifth year of visiting the orphanage, Matlock organizes her sponsors, families, and anyone who wants to go on a weekend ride with them, to visit the orphanage to deliver donations. “Every year I ask for a list from the orphanage to see what they need. Mostly it’s school supplies,” she said. “The supplies have to last for an entire year until we come back. But there are also other needs such as underwear, shoes, etc. “Our sponsor Yokohama pitched in this year with school backpacks, and we got every kid there a pair of new shoes.” The Matlocks also gather monetary donations that help pay for food and other supplies that they need. “This year we had a smaller group, but we were still able to hand them a check,” said Matlock. “Our group has been growing every year but this year many of our regulars were able to attend.” The Foundation For His Ministry orphanage has been grateful for the Matlock’s charity ride and donations, but this year the orphanage wanted to do something for them. “We’ve developed a great connection with them, and they called me a few days before our arrival this year and asked if we could have lunch with them,” said Matlock. “It was special for us to sit down, and they opened their kitchen, and shared a meal with us. That created a much deeper bond with them. It’s hard to describe the emotional connection with them.” Aside from coming down to bring donations, the Matlock ride also provides the kids a chance to ride in a UTV. “We give the kids rides around the neighborhood and there’s a little sand wash down there that also makes it fun,” added Matlock. “We always have around 100 kids so everyone in our ride participates and they all enjoy it.” The Complete Ride Organizing an off-road UTV ride down in Mexico is purposeful and fun for the Matlocks. To make it enjoyable for the participants, they gather everyone at Estero Beach in Ensenada. “We pass out swag bags and our sponsors are generous, and our riders get cool stuff,” said Matlock. She gets a head count, and the group heads out the following morning to Santo Tomas. “We meet on a Thursday and head out early on Friday morning,” she said. “We hit the dirt in Santo Tomas and it’s about 150 miles from that point down to San Quintín on dirt trails. It takes a while with 20 or more UTVs.” The group stops to enjoy the scenery in some places, has a fuel stop, and then they go along some of the roads used in SCORE race courses. “There are so many trails and when you get to the Pacific Ocean. It’s all so beautiful,” said Matlock. “We then continue down to San Antonio Del Mar and have a local taco guy come and we have tacos on the beach. This is about the halfway point on Friday, and we continue to make it to our hotel in San Quintín.” “Saturday morning, we go to the orphanage and enjoy the day with the kids. In the afternoon, we head back to our hotel and there are some dunes there where we have some fun. Sunday morning, we usually go home, but now, it boils over to Monday,” she said. “It’s just easier to avoid the crowds at the border.” Kristen makes announcements about three to four months before the scheduled trip to gather as many people as possible who want to go and/or make donations. For those that don’t have a UTV, the Matlocks take two chase trucks down to carry supplies, which can also hold some passengers who want to see what it’s like. For more information on this event direct message @kristenmatlock on Instagram. SJ