HP Ranch Halloween Event Coverage

Posted on November 2, 2023 in Featured Posts

Written by Tara Bush, photos by various attendees

Perfect weather at a perfect venue is what we all want at a car show. It all came together in perfect unison at Horsepower Ranch in a small town called Geneva, northeast of Orlando. The owners, Rachel and Scott, bring together two very different businesses to create a unique car show. Rachel has a Polynesian family history of creating traditional luaus in her native Hawaii. Scott, an airplane mechanic turned classic car restorer and dealer. Together they have created an event venue space, some 30 acres, perfect for weddings, parties, classic car/truck restoration, and car shows. Acres of pasture land, Clydesdale horses, miniature ponies, hay rides, bounce houses, vendors, food trucks, Polynesian style food, and a full liquor bar saloon. If that isn’t enough, their love of animals was expanded past the two wolves and Dalmatian house dogs to the petting zoo which includes goats, a tortoise, and a deer.

Every Halloween they open their property up for a giant car and luau show. Classic and modern show cars were streaming in early and lined the grass pastures. DJ Don from Cruisin Orlando was cranking out the rock and country early in the day. Groups such as the Mopars of America, The Gray Beards, The Dirty Rat Cruisers, and a 90-94 show Jeep club (I didn’t get the name but they were stunning) were coming in large numbers. Top 30 and Best of Show awards were presented to an array of car and truck styles including the most outstanding original classics, best moderns, plus the most unique, best foreign, best trucks & Jeeps, and the ones that the judges just liked.

There was a costume contest for varies ages of kids followed by the luau show and band starting at 12:30 on the main covered stage. Traditional Polynesian dancers got the crowd going with a Hulu dance lesson, of which car guys were not good at, and the male fire dancers took to the stage to the ahs and ohs from the crowd.

During the award ceremony, one lucky cruiser went home with a new engine hoist donated by O'Reillys Auto Parts and another took home the $1000 random cash drawing. Congratulations to our local cruiser Dave, he can now buy more signs to decorate his street rod. The show wound down around 3, but DJ Don kept the music going until 4 so the working crew could take a breather and relax to the sounds.