Watching Wile E. Coyote anticipate the crushing weight of a free-falling boulder is always hilarious. Getting smashed by a humongous pumpkin instead seems right in line with something that could happen to iconic Looney Toons character who’s the ultimate glutton for punishment
Jay Richard, otherwise known as Wyoming's "Pumpkin King," decided that would be the perfect scene for the climax of the 2024 Wyoming State Champion Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Worland on Oct. 5.
The annual Pumpkin Drop is the highlight of the weigh-off, where a giant pumpkin weighing more than 1,000 pounds is dropped from a 200-foot-tall crane onto something, obliterating it.
Previous drops have totaled pickups, a giant representation of a COVID germ with “Made In China” scrawled on it and even smashed right through an RV.
This year, the drop is finally going to try to accomplish something Wile E. Coyote hasn’t been able to do to himself for 75 years — take him out once and for all (although that’s not because of a lack of effort).
“I have a Wile E. Coyote figurine that’ll be standing on an 8-foot target on the ground with a little umbrella in his hand,” he said.
Instead of a boulder, the Looney Tunes character will be squashed by more than 1,000 pounds of squash. Three or four giant pumpkins will be dropped from a the crane at the climax of the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off at the Washakie County Fairgrounds, which Richard expects will be the biggest and best yet.
“It's going to be a great day,” he said. “This should be the biggest event ever, and we’re looking forward to a lot of good times.”
Pumpkin Poignancy
Pumpkin growers across Wyoming will bring their grandest gourds to Worland for the annual weigh-off, hoping to have the best of the bunch. It’s been a challenging year for growing pumpkins in Wyoming, including “Pumpkin King” Richard, last year’s state champion.
“I’m certainly not going to win anything this year, but I had a lot of fun doing it,” he said. “Some new people are coming up, and it’ll be exciting to see what they've got going on — first-timers growing 500-pounders. That’s just as exciting to me as anything I've ever grown.”
Richard will soon pull the plug on the three pumpkins he’s been nurturing for months, ranging between 840 and 1,300 pounds. He won last year’s competition with a pumpkin he named Leather Tuscadero, which weighed in at 1,399 pounds.
So far, 2024 has been as disappointing as 2023 was glorious for Richard. But he’s in good company, as it’s been a rough growing season across Wyoming.
“I had 68 days from the last frost until the first frost at my house this year, and that was not enough time to get a good start,” he said. “I made a lot of mistakes, and the weather didn't help. But if you don't step up to the plate and swing for the fence, you never know if you will hit a home run. I tried a lot of things, and it wasn't necessarily an awesome year.”
Nevertheless, Richard’s largest pumpkin, his 1,300-pound pumpkin named Jan, will make the 200-foot ascent and get a sudden crush on Wile E. Coyote. That alone makes it a worthwhile growing season.
“Wile E. Coyote is going to find out what it's like to catch a 1,000-pound pumpkin on his head,” he said.
Pumpkin Participation
Despite the growing difficulties, everyone expects to have a lot of fun at the 2024 Wyoming State Champion Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off. The annual event at the Washakie County Fairgrounds is sharing the celebration with the Worland Ten Sleep Chamber of Commerce’s Oktoberfest.
Richard said the weigh-off will begin “promptly” at 11:30 a.m. and continue until every piece of produce is weighed.
“We can do more than pumpkins,” he said. “We can do field pumpkins, watermelons, squashes and sunflower seeds. They're all sanctionable, so if you have a record, we can put it in the record books.”
Worland’s Tractor Guys is sponsoring a new kid’s category for pumpkins. Richard said it’s an opportunity “so an 8-year-old doesn't have to compete against the adults who take this plumb-serious.”
But the biggest surprises tend to crop up with the zucchinis. Richard anticipates several massive zucchinis, including one of his own, will be lined up that Saturday, waiting to win a prize and potentially set new records.
Richard said participation makes the annual event so much fun and successful. He finds as much enjoyment in the agricultural achievements of others as in his own, especially after a disappointing year in his pumpkin greenhouse.
“Growing food is pretty cool,” he said. “Because I struggled so much and had so many problems, it recentered my thinking as to why I do this and put on this event. It’s seeing the enjoyment on other people's faces. Watching a 12-year-old kid or a 30-year-old woman come up with a 500-pound pumpkin and knowing they grew that. That’s the real measure of success.”
One of Jay Richard's 2014 competition pumkins named Jan is reach to be weighed in Utah this weekend. Next weekend, Jan will be dropped from a crane and explode during the annual Wyoming Pumpkin Drop and weigh-off. (Courtesy Photo) 
Jay Richard with one of his 2024 giant pumpkins. (Courtesy Photo) 
A pair of huge pumpkins Jay Richard is growing at his home in Worland, Wyoming. (Courtesy Jay Richard via Facebook)
Friendly Fire
The final event is “the drop.”
Around 2:30 p.m., Swing Trucking will hoist three or four massive pumpkins 200 feet into the air, then drop them onto a giant target with the cowering Wile E. Coyote at the center.
In 2023, Richard’s 1,399-pounder was dropped onto an RV. It left quite an impression on the vehicle and the crowd, so there will be a few changes in 2024.
“We have moved the drop location into the fairgrounds arena this year,” he said. “There’s two and a half times the distance between the splat and the people this year. We had some pretty serious flying debris last year that got a little too close for comfort.”
Richard hinted that other objects might be placed on the same target as Wile E. Coyote, providing more pumpkin-crushing targets. It’s the spectator sport of the season in Worland, and Richard can’t wait to see who and what shows up.
“It's nothing more than bragging rights and a good time,” he said. “And it's a lot of fun. The Wyoming State Champion Weigh-Off always gets people involved who wouldn't normally be involved in these things. It’ll bring them out to participate with us, and that's what it's all about. It’s a day of participation and celebration.”
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
