Last month we wrote about the three heavies in the attendance wars. The winner and still champeen are the folks who put on the Mustangs Northwest show. Once again, we'd like to thank them for their time and effort in achieving that goal.
Of course, not every Pony Trail will make the top three. But we still want to salute the other folks who sallied forth, and brought home some impressive numbers for the size of the shows. We'd also like to remind you that it doesn't have to be a Mustang to run with us. It just needs to be Ford-powered.
We can't thank those of you who attend our trails enough for your time and effort. Without you we would not be able to have Pony Trails. For those that keep coming back, you have our heartfelt thanks for your dedication to our little idea.
Now, let's get to the rest of our trails. Who knows, if you went, your photo might just be here.
Fantasy of Flight '0335 Ford-powered vehiclesWeather: ExcellentAttendance: A little low
The Fantasy of Flight show is a neat one that brings in an average of 200 Ford-powered vehicles for a one-day show at the Fantasy of Flight complex in Polk city, Florida. The show has grown to an impressive level over the last few years, and we have to say we are always glad to see a show like this stay healthy. One neat side benefit of the show is the arrival of three to five WWII/Korea vintage P51 Mustangs.
The trail was not what we expected. And that might have been our fault on two fronts. The directions had a misprint (my fault), but the correct road name. Fine, if you were coming from Tampa, but not, if you were coming from Orlando. The other problem was starting it the day of the show, something we've never done before-and we'll not do again. Still, we all had fun and enjoyed blazing through the Florida countryside as we scrambled to beat the 11 a.m. cutoff time. We made it with minutes to spare.
CarlisleAll-Ford Nationals '0398 Ford-powered vehiclesWeather: ExcellentAttendance: Record for Carlisle All-Ford
I have been to the nationals every year since I started in '96 as the editor of Mustang Monthly. And every year I fall in love. One year it was a draw between life-sized cutouts of Captain James T. Kirk or the Three Stooges, another year it was an Aussie XB GT 351 in yellow with a Ginger interior (still say it would of looked spiff next to my Yellow '72 Mach 1). It's always something and I always find a cool part (like the floor shift for the Ranchero, which I got from Perogie).
The trail was great, and lovingly picked out by local resident Barry Warfield. there were hazards, like the striping crew in Pennsylvania that decided to stripe right as we accessed the road. There were no warning signs and our first indication of trouble was when the car in front of us crossed the stripes and turned yellow. It would have been nice if the state had put out warning signs along the route and at the access roads.
Mid-America Shelby Meet '0362 Ford-powered vehiclesWeather: ExcellentAttendance: Average for Tulsa