Pack burro racing is a sport that draws a lot of interest in the old western mining towns
Pack burro racing is a big sport in Colorado. Don’t laugh our city slicker friends…it just may be the next Olympic sport very soon.
We learned about a pack burro race in nearby Frederick, Colorado as a part of the town’s Miners Day celebration. While Miners Day is actually a day recognizing miners on December 6, Frederick holds an annual event to honor the town’s mining heritage with a parade and its signature event – the pack burro race – in September.
Pack burro racing involves a runner/walker leading a donkey on a rope, while carrying a pack that includes a pick, shovel, and gold pan, much like the 19th century miners did. While this has not been officially confirmed, legend has it that the idea for the races came about because of a situation where two miners, after allegedly discovering gold at the same location at the same time, raced back to the claims office with their burros carrying their loads and the two running ahead holding onto the ropes.
The first official race took place in 1949, organized between the towns of Leadville and Fairplay.
The race consists of a runner leading a burro by a rope limited to 15 feet, on a designated course, with the burro carrying a pack saddle with traditional mining gear that must include a pick, shovel, and gold pan, as well as any other supplies that the runner may need during the race including rain gear, food, water, etc.
The runner is not allowed to ride the burro, and even more importantly, must maintain control of the burro at all times. If the burro gets loose, the runner must regain control of the burro and return to the exact spot from where the burro broke loose, and then continue on the course from that exact point or be disqualified. Oh…and if you don’t actually own a burro…and some of us don’t…you can actually rent one to partner with in a race.
Pack burro races can go from anywhere from 5 miles up to 29 miles and to an elevation of 13,000 feet.
Frederick’s 8th Annual Miners Day Pack Burro Race drew a nice crowd and had 80 participants leading the burros through the downtown area and 71 crossed the finish line at Centennial Park.
It was fascinating to see the runners leading the burros on the five-mile course through Frederick on a very hot day. And even though one person finished in fourth place, he actually disqualified himself because he did have a situation of losing control of his burro and reportedly had to chase the burro for over ¼ of mile through downtown before regaining control.
Jordan Jenning and Big Ben just nudged out Aidan Malherbe and Cash for first place, both clocking in with times of 47:55.
Michelle Hancock and Poppy arrived five minutes later, finishing in third place with a time of 52:58.
While Frederick is not a part of the actual circuit of pack burro racing, much like horse racing has its Triple Crown, Fairplay (29 miles), Leadville (22 miles), and Buena Vista (12 miles) have the honor as the three legs (towns) of the Triple Crown of pack burro racing in Colorado, which has designated the events as the “summer heritage sport” by the State of Colorado.
While not yet an Olympic sport, the races are big events in small towns in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and California, where the gold mining era celebrated its heyday. I think I just might start training for next year’s event.
