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50 W.Winnemucca Blvd.
Winnemucca, NV 89445
775-623-5071
kim@winnemucca.nv.us
History
Winnemucca, Nevada might be a small town, but thanks
to the
Mule Races, Show and Draft Horse Challenge, this community,
located halfway between Salt Lake City and San Francisco, is gaining a
huge reputation for fun.
For 18 years, the Winnemucca Mule Races, Show and Draft Horse Challenge has taken place the first weekend in June.
The event began as a project of the Humboldt County
Chamber of Commerce, an attempt to draw folks to Winnemucca.
It worked so well that in just a few years, the Winnemucca Convention
and Visitors Authority stepped in to take on production full time.
The three day weekend has produced more than its fair
share of serious competition—competition that prepares world-class
mules for the rigorous California circuit that begins less than
a month later.
In fact, some of the West’s mule-racing legends got their start here, including the very famous Black Ruby, a 13-year-old racing mule that has even taken the horse-racing world by storm, and her fierce competitor, 11-year-old Taz.
With seven to eight contests each day, racers compete for upwards of $10,000 cash and point values that add up until an overall winner is declared in October. In all, about 100 mules take to the track each year.
But it’s the entire weekend that has made for such a success. In addition to the roar and totter of the race course, the Winnemucca Mule Show, sanctioned by the American Mule Association, offers dozens and dozens of classes —usually upwards of 75—for every make and model of mule and rider.
Plus, in 2003, draft horses were added to the mix—again. Two decades ago, the original event included draft horses and officials agreed that the gentle giants would add some nice razzle dazzle to the weekend to awaken a whole other market.
It worked.
Larger-than-life beauties like Clydesdales, Percherons and Belgians compete in dozens of competitions designed to test the endurance, strength and skill of both single horses and hitched pairs. And don’t forget the annual 25-mile Mule Endurance Race that kicks off the Challenge. For the past eight years, racers make a run from the Golconda Summit just west of Winnemucca to the Winnemucca Events Complex —a grueling competition that adds just the right flavor of fun and camaraderie to the weekend.
The Winnemucca Mule Races, Show and Draft Horse Challenge has become the Mecca of mule racing for competitors all over the West; it offers owners, trainers and riders the ultimate chance to “test-drive” mules before the official start of the upcoming racing season. But the event also offers an absolutely fantastic weekend for spectators who are looking for a good time in a small town that knows what hospitality means. RV groups also are welcome. The Winnemucca Events Complex features 50 campsites with power, and several more commercial campgrounds are just a stone’s throw away.
A good time in
Winnemucca, Nevada?
You can bet on it!
Location: Winnemucca Events Complex
Funded in part by the
Nevada
Commission on Tourism
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other fun
Winnemucca Events
