photo courtesy of Phill Barrett / CDRP photography Ron Richards drives Free to Dash and Modano across the finish line during a race at the Chariot Racing Championship in Ogden. Richards’ R&R team, of which his father and brother are also a part, garnered the first-division title at the world championships.

by Kalci Sagers

CORRESPONDENT

The team name "R&R" is one that strikes fear into the hearts of many in the chariot racing business. The two R's, which stand for Rex and Ron Richards and their father Dale Richards, represent a father-and-sons team where all three work together to win state and world championships.

The team, representing the Tooele Valley Chariot Association, recently took first place in the state championships, which were held in February. Their finish with a final time of 22.23 seconds that were filled with dust and adrenaline on a 440-yard track was an improvement over last year's second-place performance.

In addition to that victory, the family team was able to capture their second straight and third overall World Cutter and Chariot Racing Championship title in the first division in March with a time of 22.43 seconds.

"Winning once is hard, twice is phenomenal, and three times is even harder to do," said Rex, who lives in Magna.

Both the state and world competitions for the racing division were held in Ogden at the Golden Spike Event Center and lasted about two weekends each.

"It was such a good day," said Ron, a 15-year resident of Grantsville. "To actually do it [felt] pretty good. It's kind of a family deal. We've been racing for over 20 years now, and we've never missed a year."

This unusual hobby became a family tradition many years ago when Dale, who lives in Magna, became interested in the sport after watching others participate. Not long after, he started participating with the Utah Valley Association. In 1981, Dale, along with his sons Rex and Ron began racing with the Tooele association, although at first they each had their own team.

"It looked like it was a lot of fun," said Rex. "After doing it one time, I got hooked. I grew up playing little league and other sports -- this was just something to do during the winter."

The family proved to have more than just an interest for the sport in 1992, when they won their first world championship.

"It took 15 years to get back," said Rex, referring to finally getting another victory at the 2007 World Championship. "It was the most rewarding race I ever had, but it took a lot of work."

Rex, who had been the team's driver up until this year and raced to last year's world championship, willingly traded off with his younger sibling, Ron, who ended up driving the team to victory this year.

"I don't think it matters who drove," said Rex. "It's pretty rewarding either way."

The team has two horses, Free to Dash and Modano, who pull the chariot and the driver. These two horses faithfully ran in both the state and world contests the last two years.

Rex and his younger brother Ron take turns between being the driver of the horse and buggy team and helping the horses before they leave the starting gate by keeping them focused. Their father Dale watches from the side and manages the horses while they are away from the track at his Magna home. Each family member plays a separate, crucial role in the team's survival, which may be the root cause of their consistent winnings. As the saying goes, a family who plays together, stays together, and that is just what this family has done, making sure that after every race, they sit down for dinner together.

In addition to the family support that they receive, the Richards also say they know they wouldn't have been able to make it without the support of their friends and the community around them.

"We couldn't do it without the Critchlow family and also Sam Miles [who are also a part of the Tooele club]," Rex commented.

He said there are times when they need to pull in someone from the club to help out with things, such as at the starting gates, especially as his dad is getting older.

"My dad's at an age where the horses are too big and strong and he isn't strong enough to help in the starting gates, so he pretty much watches now," Rex said.

When the season starts, everyone in the club competes against each other and as the season progresses and through the process of elimination, teams within the club are given standings.

Other teams from the Tooele Valley club that participated in this year's world championships are Rowdy Friends Racing, Fox's, Jake and Critchlow Quarter Horses, Critchlow Quarter Horses #2 and Frank Sweeting.

The club starts training near Thanksgiving and does it every Saturday until February. The racing season spans from the end of December to the end of March, which can make for difficulties with weather.

Oftentimes the team has to deal with snowy and muddy conditions, but that doesn't stop them.

"If it's rainy or muddy you just basically run through it," Rex said. "There's nothing that stops us unless it's really unsafe, like a frozen track where a horse could get hurt."

Rex said chariot racing can be expensive, adding to compete at the level they're competing at, you can spend more than $8,000 to $10,000 per animal. While he said that may sound like a lot of money to some, many people they race with spend $40,000 to $50,000 per animal.

And while the future of chariot racing is uncertain for the family, Rex said they hope to continue, and maybe even get a fourth world championship win.