Modern Day Ben-Hur

May 2005 IBEW Journal

If you think chariots went out with the Roman Empire, think again. The sport is alive and well, and a family team of members of IBEW Local 57, Salt Lake City, Utah, reigns supreme.For an unprecedented third year in a row, father and son Jim and Jimmy Padgett of South Jordan, Utah, won the chariot racing world championship at the World Championship Cutter and Chariot Racing Association finals held in Ogden, Utah. All three titles were won with the same team of horses, Niftyandthrifty and Apologist. No chariot driver has ever won three straight world championships, and no two horses had ever achieved three consecutive first-place finishes.

Journeyman Lineman Jim Padgett and Equipment Operator Jimmy build power lines for a living, but spend much of their free time working with and caring for horses. Their team, Padgett Racing, is a family affair with participation by Jim’s wife Louise and their other kids, Gary, Stephanie and Kelli, along with help from seven grandchildren, uncles and friends. Jimmy, the driver in the races, said that there’s no way the team could have accomplished what it did without everyone’s support.