Turquoise Trail Burro Race 2024!

Lena, Larado and I entered our second Turquoise Trail Burro Race in Cerrillos this past May. This time Suzanne was my back-up donkey handler. Again, we had the best time and sauntered along the 3 mile route in our period costumes! Again, the "Railhouse" hosted us so I could bring the donkeys down the night before. Huge crowds flocked to the village and my donkeys did great with all the chaos and traffic and the cheering of the crowd. After a year living in the solitude and peace of our isolated ranch, it must have been quite a shock to them, but they handled it all very well. Donkeys are stoic though, and tend to internalize things, but I think they were able to cope with all of the stress as long as I was there to reassure them and kept my cool. When I first got my donks, I asked their trainers, Jacque and Micha Ashburner, what was the best way to work with donkeys. They told me to keep things fun and make good friends with them. They said that once a donkey considers you "their person," they will do just about anything for you. I had spent the whole of last year working on that concept, making work seem like play and really bonding with the donks. You really can't bully a donkey or force it. You can't be impatient or or even have a fixed plan. If you lose your cool or try to force things, it isn't going to help. A donkey will just plant its feet and refuse to move! Waving your arms or threatening won't make the slightest difference, except to perhaps put a gleam of satisfaction into your donkey's eye :) Anyway, my 2 BLM donkeys were wonderful and I am so proud of them :)

The top photo is of Lena, me, Suzanne and Larado in Cerrillos for the burro race. The bottom pic is of Larado, me and my friend Cathy, who owns the Railhouse.

This pic gives you some idea of the crowds. Photo taken from the back of the starting line. To see a video of what the start of the race looks like from the "front end," check out this video: The start of the 2024 Turquoise Trail Burro Race.

Burro racing got its start in Colorado, to celebrate its mining history. The races commemorate the prospector, with his burro, racing back to the nearest town to stake his claim, often in competitipn with other prospectors vying for the same spot. This is an old photo of a prospector with his donkey loaded with mining gear. A pick, a shovel and a dish for panning for gold.

The Turquoise Trail Burro Race is hosted by the New Mexico Pack Burros. For more info on the races and pack burro racing, go to this: NM Pack Burros link