Potato race

Last updated

Riders in a mounted potato race. The rider on the white horse has just scored a point by placing a potato in his side's basket. Potato race 2.png
Riders in a mounted potato race. The rider on the white horse has just scored a point by placing a potato in his side's basket.

A potato race is one of several similar racing events where contestants compete to collect a number of potatoes as quickly as possible. Participants may run on foot or be mounted on horseback, depending on the style of race. It is not clear precisely when or where the potato race originated. Potato races of both types were most popular in Australia, England, Scotland, the United States of America and Wales. Potato races were commonly held at community events such as county fairs, rodeos, picnics, and track and field meets from at least the middle of the 19th century until approximately the 1930s.

Contents

Potato races run on foot were generally considered events for children, and were often held in schools as playground games or part of physical education, or at local events such as fairs.

Mounted events were particularly prevalent in the Southwestern United States. Individual mounted events usually consisted of individuals competing to be the fastest at collecting potatoes along a structured course. Team-based events had no defined course, and were notable for their violence. Players were permitted almost every possible tactic for interfering with the opposing team, including dragging other riders off their horses.

Potato races, both on-foot and mounted, are occasionally still held at local gatherings or riding competitions today, although the violent mounted version has died out.

History

A mounted potato race in 1915 Mounted potato race.png
A mounted potato race in 1915

It is unclear precisely where and when the potato race was originally developed. It was mentioned by name without elaboration in newspaper reports of athletic events in Scotland, Australia, and Wales as early as the 1860s. [1] [2] [3] The state fair of Wisconsin advertised a potato race "that beats Base Ball all hollow" in 1869, although again there was no description of the rules. [4] In September 1871, newspapers in a number of US states reprinted a report from the Boston Advertiser which detailed an on-foot potato race that had taken place in East Wilton, New Hampshire, with many remarking that such events were becoming fashionable. [5] [6] [7] The county fair of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania listed an on-foot potato race on its program in September 1871, directly referencing these reports. [8] [9] Official rules for potato racing were printed in the 1902 Official Handbook of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States. [10]

Boys running a potato race in Ridgway, Colorado during a Labour Day celebration in 1940. Potato race Ridgway, Colorado - 1.jpg
Boys running a potato race in Ridgway, Colorado during a Labour Day celebration in 1940.

In 1902, The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky described a mounted potato race that took place at the Louisville Horse Show, remarking on its violence and noting that it "made a big hit." [11] It was not until 1912 that newspapers reported potato racing as a mounted rodeo event, with advertisements for one large Los Angeles rodeo listing the potato race by name, although without elaboration on the rules. [12] A 1913 report in the San Francisco Chronicle clearly describes a team-based potato race taking place at a Mardi Gras celebration in Salinas, California, calling it a "new riding stunt". [13]

By 1913, on-foot potato races were being referred to as old-fashioned. [14] A 1917 article in Popular Mechanics magazine suggested racing to screw in a line of lightbulbs as a substitute for potato races. [15] The popularity of mounted potato races as rodeo events died out by the 1930s. [16]

Informal on-foot potato races for children are still featured as a means of entertainment at many local celebrations and events in the United States. [17] [18] Mounted potato races are still used as a part of equestrian gymkhana events for youth today, albeit in a more structured and form that lacks the violence of the team-based rodeo version. [19]

Foot races

A potato race run on foot at a New York City school in 1919. Potato race on roof of Public School 44, New York City LCCN2016652411.tif
A potato race run on foot at a New York City school in 1919.

Potato races run on foot were commonly held for children as playground games and during physical education classes in schools. [20] [21] They were also featured at local events such as picnics or fairs, and still occasionally are today. [17] [22] Potato races have also been used by researchers to measure physical performance in children. [23] [24]

A number of lanes, one per runner, would be marked out. Potatoes would be placed at intervals along each lane, and a basket would be placed several feet behind the lane. Runners would race to retrieve potatoes one by one, returning each one to the basket before returning for the next. The winner was the first to collect all the potatoes in their lane. [20] In one variation, two runners competed to be the first to return fifty potatoes to their own basket, racing simultaneously to take the closest potato from a single line of one hundred potatoes rather than separate lanes. [25]

On-foot potato races have been likened to the Zuni game of A-we-wō-po-pa-ne, which involved collecting stones rather than potatoes. [26]

Writing in 1915, feminist theorist Charlotte Perkins Gilman described seeing a moving picture of a potato race on ice, and remarked on the notable difference between the performance of men and women, which she attributed to the restrictive clothing worn by women at the time. [27]

Mounted

Individual competition

Potato races with mounted participants were historically geared toward adult participation. They were prominent in the Southwestern United States. [28] In mounted races, competitors used sharpened stakes to spear potatoes and bring them from one end of a course to another. These races were timed, and the racer whose basket was heaviest at the end was the winner. [16] One less common variation bore some similarities to the blood sport of rooster pulling, but used potatoes rather than partially-buried roosters. A line of potatoes was spaced out along a course, and a rider would ride by at a loping pace, leaning down from their horse and snatching the potatoes from the ground. Riders who failed to maintain speed, or missed a potato, would be disqualified. The fastest remaining rider was the winner. [16]

Mounted potato races have been staged with participants riding on vehicles rather than horses. The British Almanac of 1897 mentions a bicycle-mounted potato race in an article describing bicycle gymkhana. [29] A large picnic in Radford, England, in 1908 featured a bicycle potato race whose riders were young women. It was described at the time as a "splendid exhibition". [30] In 1910, 5,000 spectators at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway watched a sort of reverse potato race where passengers in cars tried to throw potatoes from the vehicle into baskets placed along a track. [31] American Motorcyclist magazine reported that the First Annual Motorcycle Rodeo, held in 1970, featured a potato race with riders mounted on motorcycles. [32]

Team-based tournament

Swinging their laths like swords and crashing into one another, potato racers at Cassoday left the hundred-yard course strewn with potatoes and an occasional horseman as spirits, and tempers, rose.

— Jim Hoy, Plains Folk: A Commonplace of the Great Plains , p. 126 [16]
Mounted potato race during a Fourth of July celebration in Vale, Oregon. Mounted potato race 1941 Vale Oregon - 1.jpg
Mounted potato race during a Fourth of July celebration in Vale, Oregon.

Around the turn of the 20th century some mounted potato races were run as competitions between teams attempting to fill a basket with potatoes. These events were not so much ordered races as they were free-for-alls, which could last as long as ten minutes. [11] They were notably chaotic, as riders were not confined to lanes, and the rules permitted competitors to use their stakes to knock potatoes off the stakes of the other teams. [16] Physical violence often ensued; the autobiography of cowboy Harry Arthur Gant describes one team race at a Frontier Days event in 1909 that became so violent that the judges were forced to halt the competition in the middle. [33] The Courier-Journal noted that violent tactics such as pulling riders off their horses were considered acceptable, and that "biting is about the only thing that is barred." [11]

Writing in Plains Folk, James Hoy remarked upon the similarity of these races to the Central Asian sport of buzkashi, which also involves fiercely competitive riders attempting to bring items to a goal, albeit on a much larger scale than potato races. [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barrel racing</span> Competitive equestrian rodeo sport

Barrel racing is a rodeo event in which a horse and rider attempt to run a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time. In collegiate and professional ranks, it is usually a women's event, though both sexes compete at amateur and youth levels. It requires a combination of the horse's athletic ability and the horsemanship skills of a rider in order to safely and successfully maneuver the horse around three barrels placed in a triangle pattern within a large arena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Major Taylor</span> American racing cyclist

Marshall Walter "Major" Taylor was an African-American professional cyclist. Even by modern cycling standards, Taylor could be considered the greatest American sprinter of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Roberts</span> American motorcycle racer

Kenneth Leroy Roberts is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He was also a two-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. Roberts is one of only four riders in American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) racing history to win the AMA Grand Slam, representing Grand National wins at a mile, half-mile, short-track, TT Steeplechase and road race events.

Patrick Alan "Pat" Day is a retired American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. Day won nine Triple Crown races and 12 Breeders' Cup races. He was once the leader for career Breeders' Cup wins though he was later surpassed as the events were expanded after he retired.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enduro</span> Form of motorcycle sport

Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is a time-card enduro, whereby a number of stages are raced in a time trial against the clock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daytona 200</span> Motorcycle race held in Daytona, United States

The Daytona 200 is an annual motorcycle road racing competition held in early spring at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 200-mile (320 km) race was founded in 1937 when it was sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). The original course used the beach itself before moving to a paved closed circuit in 1961. The Daytona 200 reached its zenith of worldwide popularity in the 1970s when the race attracted the largest crowds of any AMA race along with some of the top rated international motorcycle racers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anna Lee Aldred</span> American jockey and trick rider

Anna Lee Aldred was an American jockey and trick rider in rodeos. She was the first woman in the United States to receive a jockey's license. She pursued her professional horse racing career from 1939 to 1945, winning many races at state and county fairs. She then pursued a second career as a trick rider from 1945 to 1950. She was inducted into the National Cowgirl Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gymkhana (equestrian)</span> Equestrian event consisting of speed racing and timed games for riders on horses

Gymkhana is an equestrian event consisting of speed pattern racing and timed games for riders on horses. These events often emphasize children's participation and may be organized by a recognized Pony Club or a 4-H club. In parts of the western United States, this type of competition is usually called an "O-Mok-See" competition, a term derived from a Native American phrase said to mean "games on horseback". Very small events with little or no prize money, designed for beginners or riders at a local level, are sometimes called playdays. "Gymkhana" is the word used in most of the rest of the English-speaking world, including the United Kingdom and both the East Coast and the West Coast of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indianapolis Motor Speedway race results</span>

Race results from the automobile and motorcycle races contested at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. Races have been held on seven different track configurations:

Motorcycle accessories are features and accessories selected by a motorcycle owner to enhance safety, performance, or comfort, and may include anything from mobile electronics to sidecars and trailers. An accessory may be added at the factory by the original equipment manufacturer or purchased and installed by the owner post-sale as aftermarket goods.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of motorcycles and motorcycling</span> Overview of and topical guide to motorcycles and motorcycling

The following outline is provided as an overview of motorcycles and motorcycling:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Flat Track</span>

American Flat Track is an American motorcycle racing series. The racing series, founded and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1954, originally encompassed five distinct forms of competitions including mile dirt track races, half-mile, short-track, TT steeplechase and road races. The championship was the premier motorcycle racing series in the United States from the 1950s up until the late 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Professional Rodeo Association</span>

The Canadian Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) is the governing body of professional rodeo in Canada. Its championship event is the Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) held every November.

The Herr's Snacks 200 is an Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA) race at Salem Speedway, currently held in the fall. ARCA first held a race at Salem in 1979 before returning from 1987 to 1989. Races have been consistently held in the fall since 1992 and in April from 1996 to 2019. The April 2020 race was cancelled due to COVID-19, and only the fall race remained on the schedule in subsequent years. Frank Kimmel is the only multi-time winner of the April event, taking four victories. He also won the fall event five times, totaling nine wins at the track. Tim Steele was victorious four times at the track, including winning the fall event three times. Tom Hessert III and Bob Strait are also multi-time winners of the fall event.

Jerri Duce, also known as Jerri Duce Phillips, is a 9-time Canadian barrel racing champion. She was the first Canadian woman to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo (1975) in the United States and was the first woman inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame (1997). She also performed as a trick rider and stunt rider. She was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2010 and runs a horseback riding school.

Viola Thomas was a 3-time Canadian barrel racing champion and one of the first women to be licensed as a jockey in Canada. She was the first licensed woman jockey to ride in both Alberta and Saskatchewan, third woman to ride as a licensed jockey in Canada, and 17th woman jockey in North America. She was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transatlantic Trophy</span> 20th-century motorcycle races

The Transatlantic Trophy was an annual series of motorcycle races between the United Kingdom and America held from 1971 to 1988 and again in 1991. They were mostly held over the Easter weekend at Brands Hatch, Mallory Park and Oulton Park, although some races were held at Donington Park and Snetterton. Three different specifications of motorcycles were used in the series at various times: AMA/F750, Superbike and GP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Player Norton</span> Type of motorcycle

The John Player Norton, also referred to as JPN and JPS Norton, were a series of Formula 750 racers manufactured by Norton Motorcycle Company from 1972 to 1974 and sponsored by cigarette manufacturer John Player. The engine for these machines was derived from the unit used in the Norton Commando, which was a development of the 1948 Bert Hopwood designed 500 cc Dominator. The lack of power from the engine, compared with other manufacturers, led designer and rider Peter Williams to a adopt a radical approach to chassis design. Riders of the bikes included Williams, Phil Read, Tony Rutter, Mick Grant, John Cooper, Dave Aldana and Dave Croxford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Byars</span> Tommy Byars, Professional Texas Racer

Tommy Byars was an American professional motorcycle racer and motorcycle dealer from Beaumont, Texas.

References

  1. ↑ "Presentation of prizes. Scotland's cup". The Courier and Argus. Dundee, Scotland. June 23, 1865. p. 4. Retrieved May 28, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "The Cheswick Easter Sports". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. April 22, 1868. p. 7. Retrieved May 28, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Cowbridge Grammar School Athletic Sports". Western Mail. Cardiff, Wales. April 22, 1870. p. 3. Retrieved May 25, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Wisconsin State Fair". The Woodstock Sentinel. Woodstock, Illinois. August 26, 1869. p. 4. Retrieved May 25, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "A "Potato-Race" in New Hampshire". Buffalo Express. Buffalo, New York. September 9, 1871. p. 2. Retrieved May 25, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "A Potato Race". The Tiffin Tribune. Tiffin, Ohio. September 14, 1871. p. 1. Retrieved May 25, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "A "Potato-Race" in New Hampshire". Yorkville Enquirer. September 21, 1871. p. 4. Retrieved May 25, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Lycoming County Fair". Daily Lycoming Gazette and West Branch Bulletin. September 9, 1871. p. 4. Retrieved May 25, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "A "Potato Race."". Daily Lycoming Gazette and West Branch Bulletin. September 13, 1871. p. 4. Retrieved May 25, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Official Handbook of the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States. American Sports Publishing Company. 1902. p. 110.
  11. 1 2 3 "The Potato Race". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. October 3, 1902. p. 2. Retrieved May 18, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "$10000 Prizes Offered For First Rodeo". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. February 13, 1912. p. 3. Retrieved May 25, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Spirit of Mardi Gras in Control". San Francisco Chronicle. August 3, 1913. p. 35. Retrieved May 25, 2018– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Chesley, Albert Meader (1913). Indoor and Outdoor Gymnastic Games. New York: American Sports Publishing Company. p. 49. Retrieved May 28, 2018– via en.wikisource.org.
  15. ↑ "Light Bulbs Supplant Potatoes in Odd Race". Popular Mechanics. Popular Mechanics Company. July 1917. p. 21.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hoy, Jim; Isern, Tom (1987). Plains Folk: A Commonplace of the Great Plains . University of Oklahoma Press. pp.  126–127. ISBN   9780806120645. potato race.
  17. 1 2 Rhoten, Josh (June 19, 2014). "You're Invited to Wyoming's Birthday Party". Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. Cheyenne, Wyoming. p. D1.
  18. ↑ "Two-Day Planner". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois. September 25, 2011. p. 2.[ dead link ]
  19. ↑ Levinson, David; Christensen, Karen (1999). Encyclopedia of World Sport. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 182. ISBN   0195127781.[ dead link ]
  20. 1 2 Sperling, Sperling (1916). The Playground Book. New York and Chicago: The A. S. Barnes Company. p. 47.
  21. ↑ White, Monica R.; Wild, Doris E. (1924). Physical Education for Elementary School. p. 103.
  22. ↑ "Founder's Day". The Hawaiian Gazette. Vol. 28, no. 52. Honolulu, Hawaii. December 26, 1893. p. 5 – via eVols.
  23. ↑ Atkinson, R. K. (April 2–4, 1925). "A Study of Athletic Ability of High School Girls". American Physical Education Review. 30 (7): 389–399. doi:10.1080/23267224.1925.10651798.
  24. ↑ Millis, R. M.; Baker, F. W.; Ertugrul, L.; Douglas, R. M.; Sexcius, L. (February 1994). "Physical performance decrements in children with sickle cell anemia". Journal of the National Medical Association. 86 (2): 113–116. ISSN   0027-9684. PMC   2568164 . PMID   8169985.
  25. ↑ Loyd, Sam (1959). Mathematical Puzzles. Courier Corporation. p. 103. ISBN   9780486204987.
  26. ↑ Owens, John G. (May 1891). "Some Games of the Zuni". Popular Science Monthly. Vol. 39. pp. 40–41 – via en.wikisource.org.
  27. ↑ Gilman, Charlotte Perkins (2002) [1915]. Hill, Michael R.; Deegan, Mary Jo (eds.). The Dress of women : a critical introduction to the symbolism and sociology of clothing. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 33. ISBN   0313312702. OCLC   70735344.
  28. ↑ "Potato Race is Fast Game When Played By Cowboys". Popular Mechanics. Hearst Magazines. November 1915. p. 704. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  29. ↑ The British Almanac: Containing Astronomical, Official and Other Information Relating to the British Isles, the Dominions Oversea and Foreign Countries. Stationers' Company. 1897. p. 330.
  30. ↑ McGrory, David (October 26, 2002). "Weekend: Time Tunnel". Coventry Evening Telegraph. Coventry, England. p. 34.[ dead link ]
  31. ↑ Kramer, Ralph; Andretti, Mario (2009). Indianapolis Motor Speedway: 100 Years of Racing. p. 44.[ dead link ]
  32. ↑ Fee, Robert O. (October 1970). "AMA Club Sponsors Motorcycle Rodeo". American Motorcyclist. American Motorcyclist Association. p. 12.
  33. ↑ Gant, Harry Arthur (2009). I Saw Them Ride Away. Castle Knob Publishing. p. 138. ISBN   9781441402349.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.