CONQUEST - Gary Ellinwood had to restrain himself Saturday morning. It was his first time going to the Conquest Fire Department's Mud Bog, and he was tempted to bring his own vehicle to compete.

But Ellinwood, of Cato, didn't want to ruin his truck, and he went so far as to drive to the event in his girlfriend Sheila Tuccio's car to eliminate his possibility of participating.

“I'm just a passenger today,” Ellinwood said, “to keep me out of trouble.”

Ellinwood was one of several spectators watching the pickup trucks and ATVs attempt to plow through the man-made mud bog, located at the Conquest Recreation Field. The fire department fundraiser judged competitors on who could drive their vehicle the farthest through the muck.

Despite a constant wind and lingering dampness, the crowd was upbeat, hooting and hollering as trucks revved their engines in preparation for a mud bath.

Mike Harris, of Montezuma, entered the bog with a pristine white, suped-up '86 Chevy - and his Siberian Husky, Demon, in the passenger seat (a good luck charm, Harris said).

Harris gave it the gas. Mud flew everywhere and within seconds, the truck was stuck mid-bog.

“I'm going to get it next time; I see where the pathway through is,” Harris said, noting that he wasn't particularly happy with his distance on his first try. “Next time, I'm going to catch that sweet spot.”

(Keeping his word, Harris later reported he had received second place in the modified truck class.)

Besides a little flooding and the change from a white to brown exterior, Harris' truck was in good condition after his first pass.

The same could not be said for other contestants, some of whom ended up with a pulled up rim or lost tire. Larry Sherman's '93 Chevy suffered two flat tires, but the Auburn resident wasn't concerned.

“I'm just out here to have a good time, that's all,” Sherman said. “Now I just got to figure out a way to bring (the truck) back home.”

The first-time bogger was pleased with his distance and said he would try again next year. He described his trek through the mud as “rough, bouncy all over.”

“You'll have to go to the chiropractor Monday,” joked Tuccio, Sherman's sister.

The event drew a wide variety of people, from young guys drinking Buds as the country music blared to families with small children who couldn't wait to see their relatives get dirty.

Cato resident Becki Southard has been to every Conquest mud bog since its inception five years ago and has brought her son Thomas Fox, 3, for as many years as he is old.

Fox was bundled up in gloves and a sweatshirt as he prepared to watch his uncle, father and grandfather compete.

“It's just fun to come and see,” said Southard, who noted that she would participate if she could get up the nerve. “The kids love it.”

Staff writer Linda Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or linda.ober@lee.net