Henry County Fair hosts ATV Rodeo

MT. PLEASANT – The Henry County Fair brought back an old favorite in 2022 that crowds hadn’t seen for a while: ATV races.

The Henry County Fairgrounds in Mt. Pleasant hosted the First Annual ATV/UTV Rodeo Sunday, which drew more than 50 entries, and featured competitors as young as 6 years old racing their dirt bikes and four-wheelers at full throttle.

Henry County Fair Board member Russell Krieger, who is in charge of the grandstand entertainment, said the Henry County Fair used to host ATV racing all the time until the fair board ran into problems expanding the track, and had to stop the races. A few local people approached Krieger about bringing back ATV races in the form of an “ATV Rodeo.”

“I said, ‘Guys, that’s a great idea, but I have no idea what that is,’” Krieger said.

The ATV Rodeo is essentially barrel racing with motorsport vehicles instead of horses. The racers must complete a pattern that involves making multiple turns around barrels before heading to the finish line.

Krieger thought he had secured the help of local people to run the event, but they backed out. On Sunday, July 10, with just one week left to plan the rodeo, Krieger feverishly began making calls to people he knew in the ATV world. He found two men who agreed to help, one named Brian Hols from Drakesville, Iowa, and another named Nicholas Esterday from Revere, Missouri.

“I made that first phone call [about the rodeo] on 5 p.m. that Sunday, and seven days later at 4 p.m. we were racing ATVs at the county fair,” Krieger said. “Between Nicholas and Brian, I can’t thank those guys enough. I never would have been able to put this on without the help of those guys.”

Esterday said he grew up on four-wheelers and motorcycles, and enjoys participating in races, too. He had never helped to organize a race until Sunday.

“I think it turned out absolutely wonderful,” he said. “I really enjoy the kids. That’s the main reason we put it on. If we can get kids involved in the sport of ATVs and motorcycles, that’s great.”

Esterday said that, because of the time crunch they were in to plan the event, the organizers opted to have the competitors do just two patterns instead of three. He said plans are already underway to make the event bigger and better next year. He hopes it can start earlier than 4 p.m. and to have more races.

“I got asked by a few people Sunday if I enjoyed doing it, and I said I love racing, but I enjoyed this way more than any race I’ve been in,” Esterday said.

One of the youngest competitors at the ATV Rodeo was 6-year-old Amelia Larae of Milan, Missouri. She was there with her older brother Jackson, 11, who also raced. Their father, Kevin, and mother, Samantha, run DeRyke’s Powersports in Milan. The family has 12 ATVs in all, and loves to go on trail rides together through the timber of their 35-acre property. Amelia, who has been riding four-wheelers since she was 4 years old, said she especially likes to take her four-wheeler to the pond, where she fishes and swims.

The family travels extensively to participate in ATV races. They raced at the Jefferson County Fair in Fairfield last month, and plan to race in the Wayne County Fair (in Corydon) later this week. They make trips into Wisconsin and South Dakota, and have even driven as far as 12 hours to participate in a race in North Dakota.

Samantha said her family lives by the motto: “The family that races together, stays together.”

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com