For all those backhoe operators working hard in Cleveland, April will be your chance to shine when CEG Productions holds its 2003 Cleveland Expo, complete with a backhoe rodeo.

A big draw at the 2001 Cleveland Construction Expo, the backhoe and skid steer rodeos will be held April 11-12, 2003 at the Cuyahoga Fairgrounds in Berea, OH. (For more information on the skid steer rodeo, see the next Midwest edition of Construction Equipment Guide.)

Operators can come and test their skills not only on backhoe loaders but also on skid steers to see who is the best in the region and who will vie for the top cash prize.

The specs of the competing backhoes will include: 4-wheel drive, standard controls, digging depth of 14 ft. 3 in. (4.3 cm) range, and weight class of approximately 13,000 lbs. (5,897 kgs).

Cleveland Construction Expo contestants will perform a series of challenging feats while racing against the clock. Agility tests for the backhoe loader rodeo could include the following:

• The Pipe Drop — The operator must lift two cylinders, one at a time, using a tooth on the bucket and placing each over a metal post. Time will stop when both cylinders are in place and the bucket is returned to the start position.

• Backhoe Bowling — The operator will start with the backhoe bucket resting on the ground at a full stop right. The operator then moves the boom left, picks up a ring with a tooth, lifts and swings to knock down the pins. Then the operator must return the chain and tooth to the start position and boom to the start position.

• Backhoe Basketball — The operator starts with the toothed bucket on the ground in a designated square. Then the operator must pick up balls off of traffic cones and drop them into a bucket placed near the cones.

• Egg in the Nest — The operator starts in the center position, moves the bucket to the right, picks up the egg from the sand pile, then moves the bucket to the left where he or she deposits the egg in the tire with the straw “nest.”

• The Backhoe Sand Trap — The operator picks up a golf ball from the sand trap with a special tooth on the bucket, swings the boom and drops the ball into a coffee can.

Contestants will move down a line of backhoes as each task is performed on a different brand of machine. This assures that no contestant would have an advantage over the others because of the machine being the same brand on which he/she normally works.

“By using different makes of machines, we level the playing field, giving everyone an equal chance to win,” according to Sheila Kirby, show coordinator.

There will be five cash awards presented each day of the show for each rodeo. Prize money for the backhoe rodeo will be set up as follows: $750, $500, $375, $250 and $125. The winners from each day will face off on the second day for an additional $1,000, with an awards ceremony following. A total of $5,000 will be awarded for each rodeo.

Contestants will be scored on a combination of time required to complete the task and penalty points assessed for various errors ranging from failure to fasten seat belts to dropping objects in the process, etc.

Those who pre-register for one or both of the rodeos will be automatically pre-registered for the show.

For more information, call the CEG Productions Trade Show Office at 800/523-2200 or visit www.ConstructionEquipmentGuide.com.

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