Friends helping injured re-enactor with Sunday lunch

Come out to Kaminski’s Sports Lounge and Barbecue between 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Sunday for a delicious lunch — and the chance to help out an injured re-enactor.

The lunch event at Kaminski’s, 12735 Poway Road, will benefit Larry Poole. Tickets are $20 and include a lunch of a pulled pork or chicken sandwich, beans, coleslaw and fries.

Poole is a member of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, a group of Old West re-enactors who performed their comedy skits at the rodeo in 2014. He was injured at the Mother Goose Parade in El Cajon in November, when his horse slipped on some pavers in the road and fell on him.

Poole broke his leg badly above his ankle, which required surgery to insert rods and screws. He is self-employed, working with horses, and has been unable to work since breaking his ankle, instead having to hire someone to perform the work for him.

“Larry is a long-time member, our parade chairman and a board member (of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang),” said David Sommerville, president of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. “He’s a big part of the skit team, and he’s a leading guy in our fundraising department. Any time there’s a community event, he’s always in the middle of it, helping out. It was a community event that he was injured at.”

The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang is a non-profit group that raises funds for several youth programs, including The Magic Horse, a riding program in Lakeside for handicapped children. They’ve also sponsored youth rodeo queens and pageants in the past.

The event will include lunch, a raffle for prizes like a flat screen television, live music and performances from the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang at the top of every hour, including comedy skits and gun fights.

Half of the ticket cost will go to Poole and his family, as well as all the raffle proceeds and any donations collected at the event, said Sommerville.

In addition to medical bills, Poole’s inability to work has impacted his ability to support his family, said Sommerville. Poole’s wife rescues unwanted horses, trains them and finds homes for them, and the family is also struggling to feed all the horses.

“Lots of people in the horse community heard (about Poole’s accident) and wanted to do something,” said Sommerville. “He gives a lot to the community.”

Tickets are available in advance at the Livery Feed store in Ramona at 2537 Main Street and Wild Bill’s Western Wear at 1235 Broadway in El Cajon. Tickets will also be available at the door on Sunday.

For more information, call the Poway Rodeo Hotline at 1-866-776-7633.