I could already hear Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck if..." jokes ringing in my ears as I surveyed the crowd at the 2006 High Lifter ATV Mud Nationals at the Mud Creek Off-Road Park near Jacksonville, Texas. I think I may have seen some of the people he was talking about in his comical punch lines after just a few minutes of walking around. From the Dixie flags, beer T-shirts and accents, it became very apparent I was definitely in the South. It was hard to tell who had the most fun out there-the ATV riders who were competing or those watching from the sidelines- at the wild, mud-induced games.
This is the fourth year High Lifter has hosted this event, with 2006 being the biggest yet. The number of contests was expanded, requiring a third day to fit them all in. New competitions included the Mud-A-Cross, Sled Pull, Poker Run, Kiddie Bog and Geocache Treasure Hunt. The Mud-A-Cross (likely to return next year) saw fierce competition as three racers made two laps in the 18 inches to four feet of muddy water in a format similar to a circle track.
Attendees included many repeat competitors. In fact, Ava Rice was back to defend her title in the Women's Solid Rear Axle (SRA) class in the Bulldog Off-Road, All-Terrain Trucks Mud Chic Shootout. We're happy to report she was successful.
Diluting the sea of Southern accents were mud enthusiasts from as far as Canada, who came to enjoy the Texas gumbo mud and red clay this property had to offer. One of those making a long trip to Texas was a guy better known by his forum name, T-Rex. (The affable Minnesotan's real name is Mike Walker.) Within minutes of meeting him, I figured out why so many people respect his ATV refitting work.
"I like to have a quad that I can bolt on something and outperform a machine that is dedicated to that particular type of competition," Walker said. It seems that when you enjoy so many different types of ATV riding-from sand and asphalt drag racing to hair scrambles and mud bogs-it would be too costly to dedicate one machine per sport. So he just designs bolt-on products to make his Kawasaki Brute Force 650 do all that-and very well, one might say. The two-to-one transfer case he built for mud bogging delivers twice the torque than a normal ATV.