Who needs horses when you have ATVs?
At least, that is what the dozens of quad ATV enthusiasts from across the province believe who descended on the Batt Traps Recreational Area near Camp Creek to compete in the biannual Battenfelder Quad Rodeo on May 28 and 29.
The event was started by the Battenfelder family to give quad riders an opportunity to not only ride, but compete in a unique event.
This year’s rodeo had three different team events — the drag and pull, the chariot race and the cross-country race. On the last day of the competition, participants compete in a drag race.
In the drag and pull competition, each team of four riders are required to connect their quads to a bucket with ropes connecting to one common drag bar. The teams must then pull the bucket through an obstacle course.
For the chariot race, one ATV is attached to an empty chariot and leads the other three quads around the course, which is marked by large metal oil barrels. The remaining three quads, called out riders, have to pick up the mail (a small board with a rope attached) to complete the course. After they do that they must then follow the chariot once again through the course, and return the mail to the barrel. After returning the mail, the three out riders then help the chariot back into its own individual corral before racing, on foot, and touching the fence.
In the cross-country event, racers compete in a timed event over a large course that includes a number of different types of terrain.
The racers start by going through a mud pit before they go into the bush, with over two kilometres of trail with 57 different corners before going through another mud pit and the finish line.
