Extreme Cowboy Race contestants converged on Topeka, Kansas, for a wild and fast paced event during the 2010 Extreme Cowboy Association World Championship, according to Bill Hill president of the sponsoring group headquartered in Bluff Dale, Texas.
“More than 140 contestants came from 28 states, Canada and Australia to compete for the title of EXCA World Champion,” Hull explained.
Winners received beautiful trophy buckles, cash and prizes valued at more than $30,000. “The competition was tough, the speed was fast and the horsemanship was outstanding,” Hull emphasized..
Craig Cameron, also of Bluff Dale, founded the Extreme Cowboy Association, owns the organization and was the 2010 Road to the Horse world champion.
“The fastest growing sport for equine enthusiasts around the world is the Extreme Cowboy Races,” claimed Cameron, who provided commentary on each world championship contestant in his educational and entertaining Texas cowboy style.
Membership in the association is mandatory for participation at the competitions, and there are now more than 800 paid members, with the list growing daily.
“We organized the sport of Extreme Cowboy Racing with an official rulebook to keep competition safe, fun and consistent for everyone,” Hull pointed out.
The country is divided into 17 regions, and more than 80 Extreme Cowboy Races were conducted during the past year, with Cameron personally in attendance at a couple handfuls of them.
Each region offered local and regional championship competitions that led to the EXCA world championship.
Some of the riders at Topeka had just entered a few local events, while others participated in many of the competitions throughout the past year.
Highlights of the three-day world event were mid-morning educational and entertaining riding demonstrations conducted by Cameron, an inductee into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame.
“In the Extreme Cowboy Races, horses and riders compete through challenging obstacles while being judged on horsemanship, courage, speed and trust in one another’s skill,” Hull described.
Among the obstacles were various patterns, rollbacks, stops, spins, jumps, dragging objects behind the horse with a lariat and shooting targets from the horse.
“Number of obstacles crossed, overall horsemanship and speed with control were the basis for scoring,” Hull verified.
The competition included seven divisions: Young Guns, ages 7-11; Youth, ages 12-17; Novice; Ride Smart, ages 55 and over; Non-Pro, Futurity, three and four year-old- horses that had never competed in a sanctioned EXCA event prior to this competition; and the Pro division.
This year’s event crowned seven new world champions even though the 2009 world champions returned to defend their titles.
In the Young Guns division, Addison Coutts from California rode his horse named Cowboy to be crowned the world champion, and the reserve world championship went to Maggie Cincotta, also from California, riding Rayo.
The Youth world championship was presented to Joseph Visser on Meet My Dust from California, while the reserve world championship was won by Emilie Pennington on Zipps King Pin Charlie from Indiana.
In the Novice division, the world champion title went to Kelli Miller and Houstons Charm from Texas, and the reserve world title was won by Bonnie Brown and Bagwells Lady Gray from Colorado.
The Ride Smart division world championship was collected by Jorge Moser and Yo Bay from Missouri, and the reserve world title went Steve Barrett riding Mr Genuine Do from Indiana.
Laurie Shelton and Ima Little Tequila from Texas won the Non Pro world title, while Joseph Visser collected his second buckle as the reserve world champion riding Meet My Dust.
Rick Hoffman and Gypsy Chic from California earned the Futurity division world championship, and the reserve world title went to Jeff Lebbin on Shining Jack Sprat from Michigan.
World champion in the Pro division is Joshua Rushing from Missouri, who rode his horse Mini Dusty, and Runt Rageth, also from Missouri, was mounted on Burdock to take home the reserve world championship.
“We had a large attendance for every part of the championship, making it very successful,” Hull evaluated. “The contestants were all quite enthused and are excited about the coming year and participation in events throughout the country leading to another world championship.”
That third Extreme Cowboy Race World Championship is already being planned for next fall in Topeka. “We sure appreciate all of the hospitality everybody in Topeka and the area gave us. We are excited about making next year even bigger and better,” Hull concluded.
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