The 2012 Crane Rodeo has officially begun! This year’s events kicked off in Orlando with four competitors vying for the right to represent their branch in the finals down in Tampa on May 19th.

The course consisted of a maze made of PVC pipes with tennis balls on the top. The operator had to move the barrel through the maze without touching the poles and knocking off the tennis ball. If the tennis ball was knocked off, five seconds was added on to the competitor’s time. Once through the maze, they placed the barrel inside a circle.

The next task was to lower the hook on the end of the boom into a barrel without knocking it over. All of this was timed and the operator with the best time moved on to the finals.

It was a close race, with first place being decided by just six seconds. In fourth place, with a finish of 3:56 was Tommy Denman. Coming in third, with a time of 2:53 was Adrian Morales. In second, was the Orlando defending champ Johnny Bell with a time of 2:37. And the winner, with a time of 2:33 was Luke Denman.

Next up is Vero Beach on Saturday, April 21st. Come on out and join us!