Creede Donkey Dash

Please join us for the 9th year of the Creede Donkey Dash on Saturday, June 6, 2026! IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION: Each runner must have a donkey secured prior to registering for the race, either by owning one or arranging a rental in advance. Donkey rentals are an additional fee and are separate from the race entry. If you do not currently own a donkey, please visit the following link before registering: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/egw6UZs/Runwithus PLEASE DO NOT MAKE UP A DONKEY NAME. Please note that donkey rentals are not first-come, first-served. Each donkey has a unique pace and temperament and is carefully matched with runners to ensure the best possible pairing. A brief history of the donkeys that now run Pack Burro Races Donkeys first arrived on US soil in 1784 as a royal gift from King Charles III of Spain to George Washington. The donkeys first worked the plantations, but by the 1800s, were helping to build the American West. They were used by miners during the Gold Rush era, but by the turn of the century, many of these hearty little donkeys were abandoned. The donkeys found ways to survive the most unforgiving, yet extreme terrains around the American West. Resilient, they can feed on desert vegetation. While herds of wild burros now face the same threats today as wild horses, they are also being rounded up and domesticated. After being gentled and trained, many who run their donkeys find that the running activities are quite therapeutic and offer a great outlet for rehabilitating once wild and/or feral donkeys. “Burro” is the Spanish word for small donkey. However, many different sized donkeys from mini to mammoth can race in a Pack Burro Race and are interchangeably called “burro.” They only have chestnuts on the forelegs, while animals of the same equine family, such as mules (a hybrid cross between a donkey and horse) or horses, have these chestnuts on the hind and forelegs. The tail of a donkey has shorter hair, except on its lower