Shannon Radtke, the lead organizer for this weekend’s 11th annual Four Horsemen Poker Run in Oshkosh, Wis., has been bouncing around the event’s outdoor venue today like a runaway ping-pong ball. Between ensuring the event is set up to comply with Centers For Disease Control and Prevention novel coronavirus safety guidelines and handling all of the details inherent in organizing a poker run, she’s been slammed since she woke up this morning.

Though the boat count is down from last year for this weekend’s Four Horsemen Poker Run on Lake Winnebago, the enthusiasm of the participants and members of the local community remains high. Photo from the 2019 Four Horsemen Poker Run by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix/speedonthewater.com.

That will change tomorrow, at least for a few hours, when the 51 boats currently registered for the event—and there could be more as registration will remain open until 10:30 a.m. Saturday—depart on the run.

“It’s hard to say how many ‘horsemen’ have arrived so far,” said Radtke. “I would say about 75 percent of the people are here already, but there’s only a few boats in front of the hotel and just one in the sponsor slips.”

Four Horsemen Poker Run organizer Shannon Higgins Radtke (left) stole a moment today to strike quick a quick pose—and represent speedothewater.com—with friends Makenzie Gehrt and Jenna Berkley for her husband/photographer Brian Radtke.

Though the Four Horsemen Poker Run’s boat count is down from last year’s 86-vessel, event-record-setting fleet, Radtke, her fellow members of the run’s organizing team and a host of volunteers are busier than even. As previously reported on speedonthewater.com, Radtke and company had decided to swap their big dinner celebration from Saturday to Friday night, with poker hands being played in a lower-key setting early Saturday evening. With CDC and Wisconsin State COVID-19 safety and social distancing guidelines, all of that now needs to happen outdoors.

“We have everything set up and it turned out great,” she said, then laughed. “I actually really like the new layout.

Already in Oshkosh, SV Racing, a 39-foot Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats raceboat owned by Wisconsin’s Vinnie Diorio, will be on display at the Four Horsemen Poker Run this weekend.

“My phone has been ringing off the hook with members of our local community asking me if we are open to the public and they can come down to see the boats,” she continued. “Honestly, I think we’re going to be a little slammed tonight. With COVID-19 restrictions, there has been nothing going on and it’s been a long time since people have been able to do anything around here so there is a high level of excitement. The community is definitely behind us.”

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