The World Championship Chariot racing started Saturday in Ogden Utah and will continue through sunday March 30th when the winner will be crowned. Teams from around the mountain west are here to compete. 3-4 teams at a time race down the quarter mile track pulling a chariot with a driver behind them. Each team must pull at least 275 pounds in total weight. Most chariots weigh around 60-70 pounds, add the driver and some dead weight to meet the minimum weight. Not much to them. So you basically have a driver standing on a small platform leaning out over the butts of two powerful quarter horses running at 40 mph. The team with the most wins during the competition is crowned the world champion. The trick to winning is getting a two fast horses that will run stride for stride with each other for a 1/4 mile. Chariot racing is typically a winter sport, with snow or muddy race tracks. Horses thundering down the track throwing mud high in the air. Here is a video from an Idaho TV station a couple of weeks ago showing the Idaho state finals that decided who represented Idaho at the World Championships. http://www.kidk.com/sports/local/16136427.html
Edited by Painted Horse 2008-03-23 8:26 PM
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