Turtle Racing

turtle-racingThis event is pretty self-explanatory and is another one for the kids and young adults. Turtle Racing seems to be a common event for localized rodeos and is more fun than you might think. It’s not the easiest thing in the world to get a turtle to race, but quite enjoyable to watch as the youngins’ scramble to steer their terrapin onto the right path. Turtle racing is becoming more and more popular at local rodeos and seems to have spread all over the country. The history of turtle racing seems to begin in 1930 at the Labor Day Roundup on Miller’s 101 Ranch in Ponca City, Oklahoma. It had been raining so much that a multitude of turtles started to find higher ground and appeared near the area. Rain inhibited the normal rodeo events, so instead of a horse race, they started their own turtle derby. The first place winner received $7,100 in prize money, a big chunk of change during the 1930s.