Winning turtle trained for days

Taylor Alexander stood in her blue outfit and matching cowboy boots and expressed confidence that Speedy, her turtle, would win the race.

“I have had him for a couple of days now, and he sure wants to run,” Taylor, 10, said.

Parents and children were everywhere you looked, waiting for the turtle races to begin at the Hallsville Heritage Days Festival on Saturday morning. They held cameras and turtle cages, ready to set the turtles free and let them run.

“We have at least 75 contestants a year, but the number just gets bigger every year,” said Elaine George, co-chairwoman of the turtle race.

This year, 90 box turtles and 15 water turtles participated.

The crowd gathered around a circle where the races took place. Five turtles raced in each round. All contestants got a bag of candy; winners’ bags were wrapped with navy blue ribbons. Big turtles won the first three rounds, but later on the small turtles claimed their share of victories.

Cheers were loud during the races, and children excitedly encouraged their turtles to move faster. Some kids cried, but others didn’t take it that seriously.

Eight blue-ribbon winning turtles competed for the championship.

Madalyn Simpson, 6, just smiled after her turtle, which has no name, won. She had been walking her turtle for the past three days, training him for the race. Her prize? A ceramic turtle.

Casey Brown, a nurse and resident of Hallsville, came with her two daughters and her husband. Although it was 1-year-old Hannah’s birthday, she thought it was important to let Peyton, her 5-year-old, participate in the race. Peyton found Myrtle, her turtle, at a construction site and had been feeding him strawberries for three days. Brown said her daughter was excited to come to the races, getting fresh grass for the turtle every day.

Some children were excited just to be around turtles. One was 9-year-old Lauren Donaldson, who was with her mother and friend and had borrowed a turtle for the race.

“I never held a turtle, but I am doing this for the picture,” she said.

George said the event isn’t just for children. One year, Hallsville’s police chief raced the department’s turtle, she said.