Horses and their riders showed off their skills in Grantsville last weekend at the first Extreme Cowboy Challenge at Pegasus equestrian facility.

The main race on Saturday took the riders through an obstacle course which included the common water, fence and logjam barriers and the uncommon cowboy car wash.

The event was organized by horse trainer Justin Beck who runs Super B Workin’ Horses in Grantsville.

“We had 15 entries for the main race on Saturday with people coming in from as far away as St. George, Cedar City and Morgan,” he said.

Beck has been training horses for six years and wants to make the Extreme Cowboy Challenge an annual event. He already is working on a similar race for next April.

The top three finishers received prize money and prizes generated by the $75 entry fees.

Finishing in first place was Jim Jones of Morgan who rode his horse “Hog” through the course in 10 minutes and 3 seconds for a total of 97 points.

Riders earn points depending on how fast they complete the course, how smoothly they execute each obstacle and overall horsemanship.

The course included 24 various obstacles.

Paul Carlson of Stockton riding “Caliber” finished second. He finished the course fast in 8 minutes and 44 second, but his point total was one behind Jones at 96 points after he was judged on the obstacles.

April Blood of Tooele finished third on her horse “Shadow.” She completed the course in 10 minutes and 39 seconds to earn 93.5 points.

Shelby Finn of Sterling on “Aragon” placed fourth with a time of 10 minutes 53 seconds to grab 91 points.

Rounding out the top five was Blaine Terry of Rush Valley on his horse “Smoke.” He went through the course quickly in 10 minutes and 2 seconds, but judging on the obstacles lowered his overall score to 87.

“A lot of the riders came out in with a friend who also rode and they wanted to compete against each other,” Beck said. “It was funny listening to them talk about how they would beat each other. A lot of it was just for bragging rights with their friend.”

The top three did win prize money with first place receiving $250, second place $160 and third place $110.

To start the race cowboys had to catch and bridle their horse, trot through a logjam, pick up a tennis ball off a cone and put it down on a second cone, pick up a pair of saddle bags and then go as fast as they could through the rest of the course.

There were holes to navigate along with mounds and logs.

At one point they had to run past a tied up goat. “Only a couple of horses were bothered by the goat,” Beck said.

After that, the riders had to negotiate stagecoach alley which was similar to a maze. They then went through death valley which was a three-foot deep, 20-foot long hole. They had to drag a log and ride through a cattle pen full of cows.

After that it was through the car wash. “Basically, it was a shredded tarp we hung down to see if the horse would trust its rider and go through it.”

Riders then had to go through a three-foot deep, 30-foot long swimming hole which was narrow in the middle. It was then up and over a hill and a 100 yard gallop. After that, riders would have to dismount and sprint on foot the final 20 feet.

“It was funny watching the riders run after they had been riding all that time. Most were running bowlegged,” Beck said.

Mark Watson: mwatson@tooeletranscript.com