Slow and Steady

Symon Segura, 10, left, and John Anchondo, 6, place their box turtles in a starting pit during Saturday's Great American Turtle Race at the Curry County Fair. Segura won third place while Anchondo came in at fourth place.

Symon Segura of Clovis eyed the eight turtles making their way out of the 10-foot ring Saturday at the Curry County Fairgrounds' Kevin Roberts Show arena. But he couldn't tell which one was his as a fourth turtle made its way out of the ring, ending the championship race.

Segura who came in third place winning a $125 cash prize, was one of 98 contestants at the 14th annual Great American Turtle Race, which was part of the youth day activities at the Curry County Fair.

Ten turtles raced in each heat and only the first four out of the ring advanced to the next stage.

Segura's father, Leroy Segura, said his son has been racing turtles at the fair since he was 4 years old. But this is the first time a turtle he's entered has made it past the second heat.

"I thought he was going to win," Symon said. "And he did."

Symon Segura found his turtle at the Goodwin Lake Trail two weeks ago. He'd been feeding tomatoes and rose moss and named it Speedy. He said he likes turtles because of the colors of their shells.

"It's cool to see them win," he said.

Finishing first was 10-year-old Alandra Romero of Clovis. She said she'd been racing for five years and won second place last year. This is the second time she'd placed in the event, which is sponsored by ENMU Plateau and KTQM.

But Romero wasn't sure if she would even make it to the race. According to her mom, Andrea Rubio, she'd been having trouble finding a turtle to race. She'd been searching in vain for a week until the night before the race when her grandmother found her one, which Romero had also named Speedy.

According to the race rules, only box turtles found in the wild can be entered. The turtles were released back into the wild, according to event coordinator J.R. Jacobs.

While winners of the event received cash prizes, John Anchondo, 6, had another prize in sight: A trophy with a life-sized box turtle statue on top. And his turtle, which he named Snapper, did not disappoint as it came in at fourth place.