On your marks, get set, mow! Lawn mower racing taking off in rural Saskatchewan

BEECHY, SASK. — There are few sounds in rural Saskatchewan more familiar than the hum of a lawn mower.

But what happens when you take that humble machine, pull off the cutting deck, swap a few pulleys, crank up the horsepower and point it toward a twisting dirt track? You get lawn mower racing. And if you’ve never seen it before, prepare yourself.

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Dust hangs in the summer air, as engines snarl and drivers grip their steering wheels as they dive into tight corners. Spectators line the fence, cheering, laughing and waiting to see who can keep all four wheels on the ground and who might end up eating a little dirt.

“People come for the racing, but everyone loves the crashes,” laughed Dan Hopper, commissioner of the Triple Town Crown Lawn Mower Racing Circuit. “Come on now, we all know that.”

Dan Hopper’s Demaine Dart will be blazing down the racetrack this weekend in the race for the King George Kup. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

The chase for the Triple Town Crown begins on Saturday at the King George Kup in the RM of King George. The series then rolls into Demaine for the Demaine Grand Mower Rally on Aug. 8, and reaches its dust-flying conclusion at the Beechy Western Days Lawn Mower Racing Cup in Beechy on Sept. 19.

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What started as a one-time event has grown into one of the province’s most delightfully unexpected motorsports traditions.

“We just started it four years ago,” said Hopper. “It just kind of took off, and it was just such a blast. We kind of grow it every year. Started off with the one race, and now we’re up to three.”

And these aren’t your grandpa’s lawn mowers.

Well… some of them are.

All of the mowing components are removed from the machines, making them a bit safer to rip around on. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Competitors race everything from stock riding mowers with modified pulleys to heavily customized machines with completely rebuilt frames and chassis. Some racers have even squeezed in motorcycle engines.

Most of the machines are packing around 20 horsepower, which may not sound like much until you’re bouncing across a dirt corner at full throttle with nothing but a helmet between you and the track.

Unlike many lawn mower races elsewhere in the world, the Triple Town Crown is a team sport.

“You’ve got your one mower and you’ve got three drivers,” Hopper explained. “You get a captain, a co-driver and a junior.”

Points earned by all three drivers are combined, creating a season-long championship battle. The teams chase a giant trophy topped with a tiny engine while points accumulate across all three races.

“Whoever has the collectively most points at the end wins, but anyone can win any of the singular races,” Hopper said.

The junior division is open to racers aged 11 to 15, while older competitors race in the senior category. It means entire families can get involved, building machines together, wrenching in the garage and then lining up on race day to see whose mower is fastest and whose nerves are strongest.

Take in this event, and you won’t be watching people drive in circles. Hopper said the courses are designed to put competitors’ driving skills to the test. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Of course, every machine needs a good name.

“We always name our mowers, because it gives them character,” said Hopper.

Among the fleet are colourful creations like the Lawn Birgini, the Grassassin and Hopper’s own machine, the Demaine Dart.

But don’t let the funny names fool you. This is serious racing.

“It’s racing, so very competitive. Extremely,” said Hopper.

In the pits, drivers scramble to make repairs between heats. Tools fly. Chains are adjusted. Bolts are tightened. Last-minute fixes happen at lightning speed.

“Guys are just running around trying to fix things, make repairs, and there’s some words thrown for sure,” Hopper said with a laugh. “But it’s all in good fun.”

Hopper said the competition starts long before the green flag.

“Every year at our season opener, everyone kind of sees what everyone else has got, and we kind of eye each other up.”

Someone always shows up with a clever modification. Somebody else has found a little more speed. And suddenly, the rest of the field is plotting how to catch up.

“We got to keep up with the Joneses, kind of thing,” Hopper said.

Hopper said most of the lawn mowers involved in the competition pack about 20 horsepower. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

The tracks themselves are a big part of the challenge.

When the circuit first started, volunteers would build the courses and tear them down after each event. Today, thanks to growing popularity, all three races are held on permanent tracks. And they aren’t simple circles, either.

“We don’t do ovals,” said Hopper. “We’re more of a go-kart, lots of curves.”

That’s intentional.

“We want people to drive, not just fastest mower wins. We really accentuate drivers’ skill.”

Expect hairpin turns, tight corners and technical sections, where bravery and precision matter just as much as horsepower.

That’s where races are won and, occasionally, where racers discover exactly how much Saskatchewan dirt can fit inside a helmet.

The annual event started in 2022, and has grown with each passing year. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Safety remains a priority, with mandatory helmets during races, working brakes, safety tethers that shut off a mower if a driver falls off, and rules designed to prevent the machines from damaging one another.

Still, as Hopper puts it, “If you don’t want to get bucked off, then don’t ride the horse.”

The crowds certainly appreciate the action. Last year in Beechy, spectators packed the course several rows deep.

“All the way around the course was just full,” Hopper recalled. “It was fantastic.”

Somewhere in Saskatchewan right now, there’s an old riding mower sitting quietly in a shed, collecting dust beside a rake and a gas can.

But the racers of the Triple Town Crown don’t see a lawn mower. They see a machine kicking up a rooster tail of dirt through a hairpin corner, an engine roaring, a crowd cheering from the fence line and a shot at a trophy with a tiny engine on top.

On your marks, get set, mow!

Dust will fly, engines will roar and crowds will cheer as Saskatchewan’s Triple Town Crown lawn mower racing circuit returns with stops in King George, Demaine and Beechy. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)