Competitors from eight municipalities across Missouri gathered in Mexico on Thursday morning for a rodeo that looked like no other.

Horses and bulls were replaced with excavators and skid loaders, and rather than western wear, everyone was decked out in neon orange and green for the City of Mexico Equipment Rodeo. The Singleton Building was buzzing with approximately 60 competitors who traveled from as far as St. Charles and Lake of the Ozarks to compete in the event.

Competitors showcased their skills by navigating a skid loader, mini excavator and a zero-turn mower through an obstacle course. In the skid loader, operators had to run the course without running into the cones and guide the bucket between narrow targets then remove a T-bar from one traffic cone and skillfully place it inside another.

Kevin Barker, City of Mexico’s street department superintendent, said the most difficult piece of equipment to operate was the mini excavator, and the obstacle course made it even more challenging. On top of carefully navigating the tight course, competitors guided the bucket over targets, stacked tires of different sizes, moved a T-bar from one traffic cone to another, and before advancing to the finish line, used the bucket to knock a tennis ball off a traffic cone without hitting the cone itself.

The zero-turn mower was the piece of equipment many competitors appeared the most comfortable with, as they quickly breezed through the course while avoiding the cones.

First place, and the recipient of the “Top Dog” award went to Chase Hoeber of the City of St. Charles. St. Charles County took home the traveling Equipment Rodeo trophy after having the combined lowest score across 12 competitors in all three categories.

The Mid-Missouri American Public Works Association also donated a $1,000 scholarship to send a top competitor to the National Equipment Rodeo Challenge at the National Public Works Expo in Houston, Texas, from Aug 30 through Sept. 2. The winner of the scholarship will be announced at a later date.

The event was sponsored by Martin Equipment, which hauled the machinery all the way to Mexico, and provided lunch for the hard-working men and women.

“They partnered up with us a while back when we kind of brainstormed this idea of doing something to help the team build morale and it’s just kind of grown from there,” Sewell said.

Greg Sewell, City of Mexico engineering technician, said he thinks there is a lot that people don’t understand about public works.

“I don’t think people really understand what we do as far as the miles of road that we have to maintain and the number of miles of sanitary sewer lines,” Sewell said. “I think that there’s a lot there that people don’t see, and I think that causes some confusion.”

Drew Williford, the city’s public works director, echoed those sentiments. He said that events like the equipment rodeo allow the department to showcase what it really is.

“The job’s not just, ‘You get a shovel and you jump in a ditch anymore,’” Williford said. “You’re operating $100,000 worth of equipment, and you’re out in the public right-of-way. You’re doing technical things.”

For more photos, see The Mexico Ledger's online photo galleries