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Squeals of delight from young and old at Hog Wild

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Rick Quinn stands by his winning lawn mower after he won his heat on Saturday at Hog Wild at 4 X 4 Proving Grounds. (Lebanon Voice/Harrison Thorp photos)

EAST LEBANON - If you ever need to have your lawn mowed in a hurry go find the mighty Quinn, as in Rick Quinn.

The Rochester resident souped up his riding lawnmower so that it practically flew around a dirt track at 4 X 4 Proving Grounds in East Lebanon.

In a dual heat under a hot sun on Saturday, Quinn bested the other rider in a back and forth race that saw both hold the top spot several times.

"The secret is you have to pick a line and hold it," Quinn said afterward.

Lawn mower racing was one of just many entertaining and muddy events held at the Proving Grounds during its Hog Wild day put on by Clear Choice in partnership with 4X4 Proving Grounds, a 123-acre off road park that caters to all things "muddin," including mud tracks and obstacle courses.

One of the wrecked vehicles from the Cat and Mouse contest is carted off while in the background lawn mower races are under way, with eventual winner Rick Quinn trailing his competitor.

The event came complete with watering holes for kids and adults: a giant sprinkler for young'uns, a beer tent for adults, as well as music for an eclectic crowd by Muddy Ruckus of Maine.

One of the more entertaining events was the Cat and Mouse, which looked more like a demolition derby between two trucks and a van. 4 X 4 Proving Ground owner Kurt Zeller narrated the event with a humorous blow-by-blow description as the three vehicles tried to batter themselves into oblivion.

Zeller, who owns Just Chevy Trucks in front of the Proving Grounds on 202, caught himself mentioning a "Ford" during the contest.

"Whoops, sorry, I used the F-word," he chortled over the mic.

In the end one of the trucks died and the van got stuck in the mud to produce a winner.

Emma Parson, 5, of Dover, in green finishes her run through the sprinkler, while two boys remain to cool off more.

Over at the sprinkler children were getting their own taste of mud, slipping and sliding under a giant fountain of water as parents looked on happy to have their offspring occupied.

June Butterfield, of South Berwick, whose son won his heat in the lawnmower races and flourished with a wild skid into water, said she's always nervous about watching him race, but loves coming to the events.

"It drives me crazy, I worry," she said.

Meanwhile, Quinn, who had been sidelined from this type of lawn mower action for about two years with a bad knee (not from a racing accident), said he's been racing for about five years overall.

He said he modified the original tractor by adding an axle and sprockets and his Briggs and Stratton motor is capable of about 14 horsepower giving him top speeds of 38-42 mph.

In case you were wondering, that's darn fast going around a short, dirt oval with no roll bar.

Other events on Saturday's menu included an aqua tug-of-war, mega truck demos, a skillet toss and a hot dog eating contest.

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