Published: September 26, 2007 03:48 pm         

Mud bogging rumbles into area

By Leslie Gibson

Herald-Banner Staff



Folks from age 60-plus to six-and-under got down and got dirty Saturday, and plan to be back for more good clean fun when the Rockwall County Mud Bog happens for the second time October 27.

For a first-time ever event, the 36 drivers and the 369 fans said it was great, and very well organized, according to Keaton Butler, who along with his brothers and their parents, and their long-time friends and neighbors helped make “another one of Skip’s ideas” a reality — Skip Butler being Keaton’s dad.

Butler’s career has been spent in utility and road construction, and dirt work, so maybe it was natural that as he and his wife KayAnn raised their three sons, the boys always found the mud, KayAnn said.

Now, in the spirit of old-time barn raisings, the Butlers’ close-knit community of neighbors and extended family have helped Butler dovetail his expertise, his kids’ pastime and his wife’s positive, energetic organizational skills into another stop on the Northeast Texas mud bog circuit.

The 120 foot long pit at Runnin’ Wild Ranch differs from those at Caddo Mills and Canton in that this is a sandy loam clay mixture; trucks at Caddo run through black gumbo, and at Canton a soupy sand.

For the second event, son Keaton said they will pull out some of the mud and add a little more water to make a soupier mixture so that trucks with the 44” tire size should be able to go through the whole pit.

But the pit as it was Saturday didn’t stop “Ole Blue”, driven by Don Matter of Longview, from going 97’ 3” in Class III, who makes many of the area mud bogs. Classes are based on tire size, with the largest being the tractor trucks in Class V.

As the tire size increases, so do the owners’ investments in torque and horsepower. Drivers from the 40-mile radius who can’t afford to run each month, and are just starting their careers and families, run usually in the lower size tire classes; drivers who have invested perhaps a $100,000 in their truck and are introducing grandchildren to the circuit may be bringing in their vehicles from locations all over Northeast Texas and other states.

First through third place winners in Class I were Ashley Harden, Brian Butcher and Michael Gray; in Class II were Matt Sperry, Josh Lindsey, and Robert Jones; and in Class III were Don Matter, Donnie Matter, and Mike Goodman. In Class IV, the grandparent, grandson duo of Don and Donnie Matter won, and in Class V, Chris Trussell and Chris Fowler won.

While drivers made their mud-splattering runs, Larry Caldwell, one of the neighbors who lives along the road to Runnin Wild Ranch, and Michael Lee, family member, kept the grills going; they went through three cases of turkey legs. KayAnn, cell phone in hand, helped keep the gate money, the prize money and the ticket drawings straight; Amy Belsher, one of the family from Diana, her smile beaming under her camo hat and sunglasses, moved through the crowd selling tickets for a chance at a money prize, which was won by Travis McLarry of Caddo Mills. He works with Eric Smith who helped keep the time and run the pit area, and whose little son intently cheered on every truck. Nearly 50 friends and family supported the entire effort, several spending the weekend in the Butlers’ home.

“Nobody’s in charge of anything, but everybody’s working to get it done,” said Lee.

As the big trucks were trailered or driven out, the little kids took over the pit; it was the their turn to play in mud, and they became unrecognizable.

Tiffany Sims, fourth grader from Wills Point with her mother said she loved the trucks because they are “fast and loud.”

Chelsea Beldin of Mexia, Hali Wavrusa and Chris McIntire of Rockwall, played around the trucks parked in the fan area. Chelsea’s dad said he brought the kids out to give them a place to run around and that he really enjoyed the day.