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Show fannK vi v- 3gBaagwaaag - -- ..i ? r p aM : . w r?r. rfP-'-.vi' v v ? " :. s' :- M. Jl -rs "V ' Vtv ins sw ?. . ;. cA . 'i4 I f JIT-- , '"? r i if't'-'- '." - It . ..' 1-- & . - I - ..- ;f -- J - 4- V - V . " ; 0 .4? 4S.-K " aS JV' u a i? fr Y ,- - i1 i-- M! XSa) : - , 'jf H.- - ' T , fl " " - ., yhl lMl11 l.,'1' '.'9 .TS( ' V -'.. fV ' iv.r',- " I I ,rt!it ' " J- '"' '. t V J a. i 'iv- .- .! I- -" ; nd theyre off! Teams race against each other in round Chariot racing still alive ' Vowles said. After our eliminations we send our top four teams to the finals. Although some of our teams dont go to the finals, they are eligible to compete at the state level where they- have 12 different divisions.7 .' Text and photos by Steven Hoover When most people think of chariot racing the first thing that comes to mind are the Romans racing in the Coliseum or. Charlton Heston racing in the movie Ben-Hu- r. There is a group in Tooele who also run chariot races but they dont wear all the get up that the Romans did. Actually, their only real requirement for their protection is a metal helmet . The Tooele Valley Cutters Association has been racing for several weeks now. The races are held each Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Bit & Spur Rodeo Grounds. Dugway employee Gerald Vowles, Chief of Grid Operations, is the president of the club. He has been chariot racing since 1965 when a former long-tim- e employee of Dugway, Frank Sweeting, began to encourage him to race. Frank had been racing for awhile and would tell me about the races and invited me to come and watch them, Vowles said. This is how 1 got started. The next year I was racing my horses. Utah is one of nine states that run chariot races. Each of these states sends representatives to the World Finals in Elko, Nevada. To get to the finals though, they have to go through competition at the lower levels. season with the racers Our club runs a nine-wee- k round-robin competition, going at each other in a - There are three different categories for horses in the Tooele Club. They are the A (for teams that are in competition to go to the finals), B (teams that are run just for fun), and. the Colt (who run for the Futurity title). We run the races on a straightaway track with the colts running 350 yards and the horses running , Jerry Vowles and son Rick begin preparations for their chariot race. Rick attaches the harness to the chariot and makes sure that it cant come Ioose during the race. . After getting both horses into position Gerry holds them while Rick attaches their face guards. 440 yards, Vowles said. Each driver must insure that when he races that his combined weight with that of the chariot is 275 . pounds. Ely Champion Last year at the Ely Invitational, Vowles had the fastest time of 22:76 seconds. With his two rounds at Ely he took first place helping him on his. way to a ranking of ninth in the wond. He also has the track record for the Tooele Valley Club at 23 seconds flat. Despite all of his success, Vowles has yet to cap- ture the Tooele Club title. Chariot racing is a growing sport for horse owners. Ive done a lot to get people interested, Vowles said. Our club has grown to 38 members and hopefully itll grow larger." their quick jaunts down the track. f t Own i i ' , , 4 ; - 1 - ' i |