Craig Cameron’s Extreme Cowboy Association and the Southern Obstacle Challenge Association are pleased to announce that the EXCA National Championships will be held at the historic Celebration Grounds in Shelbyville, Tenn., May 24th through 25th, 2013.  The Nationals will be held during the TWHNC Spring Fun Show.  Judges for the Championships will be Diana McMurtrey of Winter Garden, Fla., and Peter Fraser, Alberta, Canada.  SOCA President, Diana McMurtrey said “SOCA is proud to have the opportunity to host the EXCA Nationals.”  She added, “We’re really excited that this event will draw racers from all over the United States, from Florida to California, and Canada”.

Extreme Cowboy Racing combines horsemanship with speed.  The event is judged, as well as timed.  Horse and rider teams must execute a series of obstacles that represent trail or ranch work.  Obstacles may include water crossing, shooting, roping, negotiating trash or dead fall, ground tying, jumping, dragging and always includes the signature free ride.  Horses must be able to run wide open and then rein back to perform slow, technical maneuvers or obstacles.  Horses can be of any breed, age, size and sex.  The cowboys and cowgirls range in age from 8 to 80!

There will be world champion riders and horses competing for prizes, money and the coveted EXCA Nationals belt buckles that are awarded to the champions and reserve champions in each of the divisions including Pro, Non-Pro, Ride Smart (55 & Over), Novice, Youth, Young Guns (11 & Under) and Green Horse.  Each division will run once on Friday and then again on Saturday, with the scores from both runs being totaled to determine the winners.  The course will be different each day and riders do not know what the obstacles will be until the morning of the race.

Come see why Extreme Cowboy Racing is the fastest growing equine sport - It is almost as exciting for the spectators as it is for competitors.    For more information, entry forms, or sponsorship opportunities email southernobstaclechallenges@gmail.com or go to www.extremecowboyassociation.com or www.southernobstaclechallenges.com.