Courtesy photo
Big Ben the mini donkey leaping over the finish line for first place with Aiden Malherbe.

By Will Cornelius
The Surveyor

Not many people can run and win a 15-mile race. Even fewer can do it while running with a donkey. But on July 30, in the high mountain altitude of Fairplay, Colo. incoming Berthoud High School (BHS) sophomore Aiden Malherbe ran across the finish line first to win the 2023 Fairplay Burro Race short course.

To be fair, Malherbe was actually the second to cross the finish line. His running companion, Big Ben, a mini donkey, was the first to cross the finish line. “Once we came into that final stretch, I knew that it would come down to a fast kick,” Malherbe explained. “It felt really good that Big Ben wanted to win and stuck his nose in front of the other donkey.”

In a photo finish, Malherbe and Big Ben sprinted down the final stretch of the race on Front Street in Fairplay locked in a dead heat with the 2021 winner Brian Rawlings and his burro, Tito. Thankfully Big Ben is a fierce competitor like Malherbe. “Big Ben definitely likes to be just a little bit ahead of the other donkey,” said Malherbe. At the finish line, Big Ben held the smallest of leads as he leaped over the finish line to win the race by one second.

Originally from McKinney, Texas, Big Ben was rescued by the ASPCA before the Malherbe family adopted him from Longhopes Donkey Shelter in Bennett, Colo. Since 2018, the family has been competing in burro races across Colorado. When Big Ben arrived, they found out he was a born runner like the rest of the family. “He was a natural, he loved it,” said Natalie Malherbe, Aiden’s mother, about their mini donkey. “Big Ben can run just as fast as the big guys,” she said.

Aiden Malherbe is already an accomplished runner, making a name for himself last year on the BHS cross country and track team, but running with a donkey provides a whole new set of challenges. “You do not control the pace as much as they do. Because it is really whatever they do—you have to go with,” said the younger Malherbe about running with a donkey. Fortunately, Big Ben always wants to be first.

Malherbe followed up the win in Fairplay with a second-place finish at the Leadville Burro Race last Sunday, this time with another family donkey named Tucker. But Big Ben kept his winning streak alive with a first-place finish, this time with a different BHS runner holding the reins, graduated senior Daniel Hatton.

This Sunday, Buena Vista will host the final leg of the Triple Crown of Colorado burro racing on a 14-mile course with Malherbe and Big Ben looking to continue their success. “I am excited about this one,” said Malherbe.