Random Utah Records & Trivia
GROWER RECORDS & TRIVIA
First Grower to Break the Barrier!
500# Barrier - Ken Giles of West Valley City - 1994 - 520 pounds
1000# Barrier - Kenny Blair of Bountiful - 2006 - 1104 pounds
1500# Barrier - Matt McConkie of Mountain Green - 2011 - 1600 pounds
2000# Barrier - Ross Bowman of Brigham City - 2021 - 2142 pounds
2500# Barrier - ??? - Who will it be?
First Female Grower to Break the Barrier!
500# Barrier - Angela Burton of Brigham City - 2007 - 528.5 pounds
1000# Barrier - Juana Laub of Vernal - 2015 - 1073.5 pounds
1500# Barrier - ??? - Who will it be?
Most Weigh-Off 1st Place Wins
1st Place Tie - 5 - 1st place wins
- Kenny Blair - (1998, 2000, 2003, 2006 & 2007)
- Matt McConkie - (2010, 2011, 2014, 2017 [TP] & 2017 [HHF])
2nd Place Tie- 4 - 1st place wins
- Ray Tolman - (1990, 1991, 1992 & 1996)
- Mohamed Sadiq - (2019 [HHF], 2020 [TP] & 2020 [HHF], 2022)
3rd Place - 3 - 1st place wins
- Gordon Tanner - (2004, 2005 & 2008)
Most Weigh-Off 2nd Place Wins
1st Place - 5 - 2nd place wins
- Andrew Israelsen - (2004, 2007, 2010, 2011 & 2013)
2nd Place - 4 - 2nd place wins
- David Bradley - (2018 [HHF], 2019 [HHF], 2021 & 2022)
3rd Place - 3 - 2nd place wins
- Bruce Orchard - (1994, 2001 & 2002)
Most Weigh-Off 3rd Place Wins
1st Place - 5 - 3rd place wins
- Ross Bowman - (2006, 2007, 2011, 2012 & 2017 [TP])
2nd Place Tie - 2 - 3rd place wins
- Ron Hoffman - (2001 & 2003)
- Andrew Israelsen - (2008 & 2014)
- Alan Geberg - (2013 & 2018 [TP])
- Ken Kolb - (2015 [TP] & 2016 [TP])
- Ralph Laub - (2015 [HHF] & 2020 [TP])
- Joey Hogan - (2018 [HHF] & 2019 [TP])
- Clint Urry - (2019 [HHF] & 2020 [HHF])
Top Husband and Wife Team - Ralph & Juana Laub - 2828 lbs.
The top couple is determined by the combined total weigh of each spouses largest pumpkin/squash.
1st Place - Ralph & Juana Laub - 1514 + 1314 = 2828 lbs
2nd Place - Kyle & Carrie Fox - 1171.5 + 669 = 1840.5 lbs
3rd Place - Richard & Lynne Glassford - 825.5 + 914.5 = 1740 lbs
Highest Weight Total of 2 Pumpkins Grown In A Single Year - Ross Bowman (4,189)
1st Place - Ross Bowman - 2021: 2142 + 2047 = 4,189
2nd Place - Matt McConkie - 2017: 1974 + 1764.5 = 3,738.5
3rd Place - Matt McConkie - 2014: 1817.5 + 1731 = 3,548.5
Highest Weight Total of 3 Pumpkins Grown In A Single Year - Ross Bowman (5,859)
3rd Place - Ross Bowman - 2021 - (2142 + 2047 + 1670) = 5,859
1st Place - Matt McConkie - 2017 - (1974 + 1764.5 + 1477) = 5,215.5
2nd Place - Matt McConkie - 2011 - (1600 + 1338 + 909) = 3,847
First To Grow 3 Pumpkin Over 1000# In A Single Year - Ross Bowman
Ross Bowman had a banner year in his patch back in 2011, growing 3 pumpkins over a half ton each. He brought them all to the Thanksgiving Point weigh-off, where they weighed in at 1174, 1082, and 1013 respectively! Way to go Ross!
Largest Pumpkin from a First Time Grower - Sam Barnes (1156 lbs.)
First time grower Sam Barnes from Meridian, Idaho brought his whopper of a pumpkin to the Thanksgiving Point Weigh-off in 2020. His efforts were good enough to place 5th in the competition. Good job Sam!
Utah's Oldest Pumpkin Grower - Ross Bowman (88)
1st Place - Ross Bowman, Utah's oldest pumpkin grower, has just gotten better with age. Ross broke the state record with two pumpkins in 2021 and weighed in his final pumpkin in 2022 at the age of 88! Ross has now retired from growing pumpkins and we wish him the best!
2nd Place - Ross Fullmer brought 2 pumpkins to the 2006 weigh-off at the age of 83. Sadly our friend Ross, who was one of the original founders of the UGPG, passed away in 2009 at the age of 86. He is missed!
Grower Who Has Competed The Most Years in Utah Weigh Offs
1st Place - Andrew Israelsen - 15 years - from 1999 to 2019 (missing 6 various years.)
2nd Place - David Bradley - 14 years - from 2007 to 2022 (missing 2015 & 2016.)
3rd Place - Ross Bowman - 13 years - from 2005 to 2022 (missing 5 various years.)
Grower Who Has Weighed In the Most Pumpkins/Squash
Pumpkins must be over 300 lbs (or a weigh-off winner for older pumpkins) and undamaged to be included.
1st Place - Gordon Tanner - 26 pumpkins
2nd Place Tie - David Bradley - 21 pumpkins
3rd Place - Ross Bowman & Andrew Israelsen - 20 Pumpkins
WEIGH-OFF RECORDS & TRIVIA
Number of Utah Grower's who Have Brought a Pumpkin to a Weigh-Off: 354
Wahoo! Way to go Utah Growers!
Number of Grower's from other States: 15
We have been pleased to host pumpkin growers from Idaho, Wyoming, Montana and Colorado.
Farthest Distance Traveled to Compete in the Utah Weigh-Off - 501 miles
Jim West and his wife drove 516 miles from Pinesdale, Montana to Lehi, Utah to attend the UGPG weigh-off in both 2009 and 2015 - 2020.
Most Pumpkins/Squash Weighed At A Utah Weighoff - 80
In 2012, a grand total of 80 specimens were weighed in at the Thanksgiving Point weigh-off. This made it the largest weigh-off in the world that year (and probably the longest)! Grower Tyler Quigley came out on top with a new personal best of 1454.5. You can view the official weigh-off results here. Here was the official breakdown:
66 Official Pumpkin Entries
8 Exhibition Pumpkin Entries
4 Squash Entries
2 Damaged Entries
Most Times the State Pumpkin Record Was Broken in a Single Weigh-Off - 4
In 2011, the current state pumpkin record of 1169 lbs, set by Matt McConkie in 2010, was broken 4 time by 3 different growers in a 20 minute period. When all was said and done, Matt McConkie crushed his previous state record with a mind boggling 1600 lb. pumpkin. What an exciting weigh-off!
1. Ross Bowman - 1174 lbs.
2. Andrew Israelsen - 1182 lbs.
3. Matt McConkie - 1338 lbs.
4. Matt McConkie - 1600 lbs.
Most Pumpkins Over 1000 lbs at a Single Weigh-Off - 8
1st Place Tie - 8 pumpkins - Thanksgiving Point 2020, Hee Haw Farms 2021, and Hee Haw Farms 2022.
2nd Place Tie - 7 pumpkins - Thanksgiving Point 2011 and Thanksgiving Point 2013.
Most Pumpkin State Records Broken at a Single Weigh-Off - 3
The Thanksgiving Point weigh-off in 2001 saw 3 new pumpkin state record set in a single afternoon; a new record not only for Utah, but also for Idaho and Wyoming. It was truly an exciting weigh-off for the record books!
New Idaho State Record - Brian Christensen - Rexburg, Idaho - 847.5 lbs.
New Utah State Record - Bruce Orchard - Bountiful, Utah - 777.5 lbs.
New Wyoming State Record - Ron Hoffman - Riverton, Wyoming - 549 lbs.
Most Successful Utah Weigh-Off By Weight - Thanksgiving Point 2020
The most succesful weight-off is determined by totaling the weights of the top 10 pumpkins. 1 pumpkin per grower allowed.
1st Place - Thanksgiving Point 2020 - Total weight of top 10: 12,135.5 lbs; Average weight: 1,213.5 lbs
2nd Place - Hee Haw Farms 2021 - Total weight of top 10: 11,796 lbs; Average weight: 1,179 lbs
3rd Place - Hee Haw Farms 2022 - Total weight of top 10: 11,185 lbs; Average weight: 1,118.5 lbs
Most Successful Utah Growing Year By Weight - 2021
The most succesful growing year is determined by totaling the weights of the Utah's top 10 pumpkins, regardless of weigh-off location. Multiple pumpkins per grower allowed.
1st Place - 2021 - Total weight of top 10: 14,120 lbs
2nd Place - 2020 - Total weight of top 10: 12,788.5 lbs
3rd Place - 2017 - Total weight of top 10: 12,732 lbs
Weigh-Off Ties
Although highly improbable, we have on occasion had 2 pumpkins that weigh in at the exact same weight. Here are the winners:
1st place - 2022 - David Bradley and Jay Richard both weighed in pumpkins at 1165, tying for 2nd place at the 2022 weigh-off at Hee Haw Farms. Both pumpkins came in heavier than estimated. Dave's pumpkin was grown in Utah and Jay's was grown in Wyoming.
2nd place - 2006 - Brent & Jenna Wolfley tie themselves! Brent and his daughter Jenna brought 2 pumpkin from 2 different plants and seeds. Both pumpkins weighed in at exactly 519.5, which would have tied for 8th place with themselves (had one not been counted as exhibition). What are the odds?
3rd place - 2013 - Brent Evans and Paul Roper both had pumpkins that weighed 817.5 pounds, tying them for 7th place in the competition that year.
4th place - 2014 - Kevin Mullennax and James Nielson both had pumpkins that weighed 444 lbs, tying them for 25th place. Kevins pumpkin was later made into a boat for the pumpkin regatta and sailed to a new world record in the 100 meters for pumpkin boat races.
Regatta & Pumpkin Drop Records & Trivia
Utah's First Pumpkin Regatta - 2011
Utah's first giant pumpkin regatta was held at Sugar House park in 2011 with 6 competitor: Ross Bowman, Kyle Fox, Andrew Israelsen, Matt McConkie, Gordon Tanner and Kyle Tanner
Largest Pumpkin Regatta Boat - 1185 Pounds
The largest pumpkin that has been used as a boat in the annual pumpkin regatta was 1185 back in 2013. The pumpkin was grown and rowed by Andrew Israelsen, who came away with an injured shoulder from rowing such a heavy boat. Bigger is always better in the weigh-off, but maybe not for the regatta!
Largest Pumpkin Floated Down The Colorado River - 1200 Pounds
In 2012, Matt McConkie, Kyle Fox and company floated a 1200 lb pumpkin boat grown by Matt down the Colorado River. It was extreme fun and made for a great YouTube video, but after a close brush with death, they may not be doing it again any time soon.
Check out the great video below:
Utah's 1st Giant Pumpkin Drop - 2004 - Trolley Square
The 1st Utah Giant pumpkin drop was in 2004 at Trolley Square where Gordon Tanner's 671 lb pumpkin was lifted up to 65 ft using a pallet lifter. They tried to drop in on a car but missed. It was sponsored by a local radio station. The 1st UGPG sponsored giant pumpkin drop was in 2009 at Hee-Haw farms, and is now a yearly tradition.