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| “We do epic shit” - The New Mexico Pack Burro crew summiting the highest peak in New Mexico at 13,167 feet. |
New Mexico Pack Burros:
An Interview with Shane Weigand
by Gina McKnight
Archived from the August 2025 issue of Florida Equine Athlete www.floridaequineathlete.com
No Duplication Without Permission
Nestled in the high
deserts and rugged backcountry of the Southwest, a unique sporting tradition
endures—pack burro racing. At the heart of this vibrant world is Shane, founder
of the New Mexico Pack Burros, a group devoted to championing the resilience and
charm of the burro. In this lively interview, Shane shares the quirky origins
of pack burro racing, the camaraderie of his burro community, and the enduring
bond between humans and donkeys that has shaped both sport and culture across
generations.
From serendipitous
beginnings to stories of miniature donkeys outpacing their heftier rivals,
Shane’s journey highlights the spirit of inclusivity, adventure, and heart that
defines the sport. Whether trekking through mountain trails or lining up for a
race on Main Street, Shane and his fellow burro enthusiasts invite us to
rediscover the legacy of these steadfast animals—and the joy of sharing the
trail with a devoted four-legged companion.
Welcome, Shane!
GM: Shane, I came across your page on Instagram and have been following. Can you explain what pack burro racing is?
SW: Yes! I'm the founder of a group called New
Mexico Pack Burros. Essentially we are a misfit group of burro/donkey owners
here in the Southwest that just get together and do cool things for donkeys,
including racing and packing in the backcountry. So we're not an official
association or anything by any means, but just cool folks.
GM: Scrolling through your photos, I couldn’t help but
notice a parade of donkeys and a crowd abuzz. So, tell me, when it comes to
these races—are we talking burro stampede or more of a leisurely jog with
style?
SW: Some of the races are
pretty big. I’ll give you the whole story of pack burro racing. Supposedly the
legend is that back in the day, two minors struck gold up on the mountain at
the same time and they had to run back to town to stake their claim and they
took their donkeys. Thus, the first pack for a race happened. After World War II,
not a lot of folks came back to these mining towns. Towns are now recreational
meccas - like Leadville, Vail, and Aspen. But back then they were essentially
failing. I guess they had some burros around and some runners, and they had the
first pack race in 1949 in Fairplay, Colorado, and it's been going on ever
since - for 76 years. It's still kind of a mining based sport.
GM: There is deep
history associated with your burros. How do packers prepare for the race?
SW: All the burros
carry a gold pan, a pick, and a shovel, that's kind of a throwback/homage to mining
roots. The trail races are anywhere from three miles to 30 miles. There's all
sorts of people who race - runners, hikers, walkers, everything in between. Everyone
is invited.
GM: Do racers own their
own pack burros, or do they borrow a donkey?
SW: There's a number of
outfits, small ranches in Colorado and Arizona that actually rent or lease a burro
for the day. So if somebody wants to try it out, you're welcome to come! If you
come, try one of the experienced donkeys to try it out.
GM: How many racers
compete in a race?
SW: Last weekend there
was a race in Buena Vista, Colorado, and there were 103 teams, a team being a
runner and a burro, which is a big race. I think the biggest race we've ever
had is about 120 teams, and that's a lot. It’s a mass start right on Main
Street at these towns.
GM: Picturing the
staging in my mind – who cleans Main Street?
SW: Surprisingly
enough, it's actually pretty clean. The burros don't make a real big mess. You
would think with 103 animals, it would just be obliterated. I'm a race director
for several races here in New Mexico and I only have two people assigned to
what we called Poop Patrol. It takes two minutes to clean up. I don't
know what it is, but donkeys just don't poop on Main Street.
GM: Ha! That’s funny.
Well, it’s fascinating. As the founder/director, do you compete?
SW: Oh, yeah. I've done a whole bunch of races. I
just recently started putting races on and help grow the sport myself.
GM: Tell us about your burros…
SW: I've got three right now. The first one's
name is Julio. She is the one that I bought off Craigslist for $200 about ten
years ago, from the South valley of the hood of Albuquerque. She was living in
someone's yard. She's been amazing. She's been all over the West. She's packed
in the wilderness, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico. She's packed up elk
and deer. And she also has competed in many different races up to 22 miles.
GM: Is Julio your
favorite?
SW: It’s difficult to pick favorites because
they're all great in a different way, you know? I've got another one who is from
the BLM Wild Horse Burro adoption program out of Arizona. He’s 19 now. He's great
for packing. He's not very personable. He doesn't really care for people, where
my other donkeys love to interact with the crowd and the spectators. He really
rather you not touch him – but, he's great on his own! He's very fast. The
third one is a mini gelding Jack, his name is Moana. He is about 34 inches at
the shoulder, pretty small. He's obviously spotted like the pig from the Disney
movie Moana. He is very, very fast. I just got him about three months
ago. And he's gonna be a contender for a lot of races.
GM: What are your
training methods? How do you keep them all in shape and race-ready?
SW: So one thing, it's hard to keep them all in
shape, right? Just like any sort of horse or whatever, you have to train with
them a lot. They’re very action - I will loan out one or two of them and then I
will pick one to race with for the season. I'll be running, you know, two,
three, four days a week with the burro I choose. Then it's up to the person I
loan it to keep that donkey in shape. Burros are very, very
trainable. There's a reason the entire West was essentially built on the back
of a burro.
GM: When did you meet
your first burro? Did you grow up with them, or is it a family affair, or how
did it that first encounter happen?
SW: I never grew up
with any of this. Back in 2016, I was backpacking and I was doing a lot of elk
hunting in New Mexico. I was essentially just looking for a pack stock animal
to make it a little bit easier. I thought donkeys are pretty neat and I was
like, wow, that's really Southwest unique. Here I am years later, I am the donkey
guy.
GM: Was it kind of
serendipitous, or an intentional connection?
SW: Definitely
serendipitous. I just fell in love with the culture and the history of burros,
the racing and everything else.
GM: Do you see a lot of
burros coming from rescue facilities?
SW: Yes, a lot of the burros come from a rescue. The
rescue just picks them up at different places - the owner surrenders them,
stuff like that. We have a lot of rescues around here.
GM: What is the
lifespan of a well-maintained burro?
SW: They live about as
long as a horse, like 30 years or so. They'll easily get to 30. We've got some
boroughs that are still doing races well over 20 years old. There's one really
cool team, a gentleman named Bill Lee from Northern Colorado. He is 82. His
burro is 26 years old and they still do a number of races together. They’re both
older and they are doing it together and it is awesome.
GM: They stay active,
so that’s probably why they are successful. I’ve always heard that burros are
easy keepers, that they’re not high maintenance like horses. Is that true?
SW: They are not high
maintenance. They're easy keepers, desert-evolved animals. The burros can live up
in the mountains, in scraggly brush and desert. You can get by with really
cheap grass hay. One of the biggest issues is that they can be obese or over-fed.
It just it kills them so quickly. They are definitely easy keepers. The only
thing you got to watch out for is when they have a health issue. If they have a
health issue, it's usually serious because they’re so stoic, they just don't
show the signs of different ailments like a horse will. They'll pretty much be
on their feet until they're not, and then they're not on their feet.
GM: Can they colic,
like a horse?
SW: They can, but is
very rare.
GM: When they’re lined
up to race on Main Street among all the other burros, do they kick? Do they get
excited for the race?
SW: They can kick, but if we have 100 teams in a
race, 70 of them have been racing for a long time. They’re pretty broke to it. Once
in a while you'll see a kick come up, but usually it's not super severe. It's
not a worry of mine. What's really interesting is when you watch the group and
as soon as the crowd starts to count down -10, 9, 8, 7.. - the donkeys
absolutely know what's going on. They are ready to go! More of an issue is a
runaway donkey because they are waiting on the crowd to count down. That’s our
biggest safety concern – a runaway. Once in a while a runner will get dragged
down the street. They fall down, get a little road rash and they lose their
donkey. The rule is you have to go back to the place where you lost your donkey
and restart the race. So you have to go catch your burrow, turn around, and come
back. Usually runners just disqualify themselves and say the hell with it. Once
in a while we'll get some good road rash. It happens. You fall.
GM: Who won the last
race? Is it like other sports where there is a season champion that is the
front-runner?
SW: The same person is
always coming out ahead. We have a gentleman named Marvin. He lives in
Leadville, Colorado. He has a little miniature mare named Buttercup and they're
kicking our butts! They have kicked our butts for four years. They have won
about everything there is to win. That little donkey has more lifetime earnings
to use a horse expression, than any donkey in history. The minis are kicking
everybody's butt for whatever reason. And I don't think you used to see as many
minis in the races as you do now.
GM: For a mini to beat
a full-size burro, they must have a lot of heart. They must like to race!
SW: Nailed it. Heart is
a big part of what we do.
GM: Have you run into coyotes
or predators on the trail? Any adversities to mention?
SW: We've ran into some
crazy snowstorms in early September, August. You know, people think about the old West.
They think about the horse and all that. What people don't realize is unless
you were a soldier with the Calvary or a warrior or an influential trapper, everybody
else had burros here in the Southwest. When you look at all these old photos,
it is burros everywhere and they were the blue collar worker of the backcountry.
They were everything to prospectors, trappers, and traders. It’s just cool to
bring them back. There's a reason that they did so well because they're just
super.
GM: I’ve heard that
they can be very loud. Is that true?
SW: Yes! You can set your clock to what time they bray
at sunrise and they'll continue to bray until you feed them. Many times someone
pulls in my driveway, I hear a bray. But, you know, it's a wonderful noise. All
my neighbors love them. They're the attraction of the neighborhood kids.
GM: Do the kids ride?
SW: My daughter is
starting to run and I got a mini donkey for her, for my toddler. It’s funny,
I've got this miniature donkey who is running seven minute miles, flying down
the trail. But then my toddler can grab his rope and just walk him down the
street. That's pretty darn special.
GM: Anything else you
would like to mention?
SW: If I can leave
anything else with your readers, it'll be to come out and see the races. The
races are usually a focal point of a large festival for these towns. Two weeks
ago there was a race in Leadville, Colorado, that they call their Boom Days, which is their big
mining days. There's vendors, food, music, and all sorts of stuff. And then the
race is kind of like the focal point on Sunday morning. So come out and check
out one of the burro races! The Western Burro Association keeps a decent
schedule on their website of all the races.
Connect with Shane
Note: In May, Shane released his new book Backcountry Burro: Your How to Guide to Packing Donkeys in the Backcountry available in hardcover from Amazon.
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| Photo Credit to Michelle Sroda with the Western Pack Burro Association Photographers |
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| “Packing Firewood” in 1891- Santa Fe, New Mexico - Photo by William Henry Jackson. Courtesy of the Edward E. Ayer digital collection at the Newberry Library. |
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 Blue Sky Saturdays. The burro pack string at 12,000ft+ in the South San Juan Wilderness (Colorado). Laid back summer trips are a blast, especially when the mini burro brings burritos and beers! |
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