‘Are you tuff enuff?’

New race added to Tillett Crooked Creek horse races

Horsemen hoping to compete in the annual Crooked Creek Racing horse races organized annually by Randi Tillett Weaver and members of the Tillett family need to be aware of an additional race to be held this year, a race that will take some extra preparation, Weaver announced last week.

A six-mile race has been added this year on Friday, Aug. 7, a day before the main event on Saturday, Aug. 8. The race, to be called the Bessie F. Tillett Tuff Enuff Race, will begin at 10 a.m. at the top of the Darnell Hills and take competitors through terrain that includes hills, sagebrush, gullies and running water. At one point the rider must dismount and walk the horse through a gate just west of the National Park Service ranger station and finish the race. The race concludes at the site of the shorter races to be held the following day.

The winner of the six-mile race will receive $500 and a belt buckle, and trophies will be awarded to riders finishing in second through fifth place.

The purpose of the early announcement is to allow riders to condition their horse for the longer race, Weaver said.

“You’d better get your horse ready now. It’s a six-mile flat-out run,” Weaver said. “When you come to the gate you have to have feet on the ground going through the gate. Then you can get on and finish the race.”

Weaver said there will be people available to map out the racecourse ahead of time, but there will be limited markings on the course the day of the race.

“It’s time for people to get their horse ready,” Weaver said. “They’ve got all summer to start conditioning them.”

The traditional series of horse races will be held on Saturday at the Crooked Creek grounds across the highway from Horseshoe Bend, and a barbecue potluck dinner will follow the races – open to all. The second songwriting contest will be held again, Weaver added. Songwriters will get their title at 5 p.m. Friday and have 24 hours to write an original cowboy western song. The songs will be performed Saturday at 5 p.m.

A cowboy church service will follow on Sunday, Aug. 9, at 10:30 a.m.

Anyone with questions may contact Weaver at 307-899-8979 or randi@crookedcreekcompanies.com.