[media-credit name=’JEFF SCHORFHEIDE/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]A little rain may have kept much of Madison indoors Saturday morning, but some still managed to make their way to Lake Mendota to watch the second annual Pumpkin Regatta.

At the unique event organized by the University of Wisconsin Horticulture Society and Hoofers Sailing Club, horticulture students gathered on the docks of Lake Mendota with a supply of large pumpkins that had been planted the previous spring.

Students of the World Vegetable Crops and Introduction to Horticulture classes competed by carving the pumpkins into seats, placing them in rubber inner tubes and paddling through a water course in their newly prepared fixtures.

Hoofers sailing instructors also lent a hand by setting up buoys in the lake for students to paddle around and also served as lifeguards.

UW horticulture professor Jim Nienhuis said he pioneered this unique event to demonstrate the "amazing amount of diversity in squash" to his World Vegetable Crops class, but the squash were far too big to bring to the classroom.

"The basic idea was, if you can't bring the squash to the classroom, bring the students to the squash," Nienhuis said.

Katrina Phoff, who teaches Introduction to Horticulture at UW, said the idea of the Pumpkin Regatta should partly be attributed to the students. According to Phoff, while brainstorming ideas for a "creative and fun" learning experience, some students recalled seeing children take pumpkin rides in a lake and thought it would be a fun idea to turn into a competition.

Phoff added the Pumpkin Regatta is an interesting hands-on experience that teaches students about the different shapes and colors of pumpkins.

"[World Vegetable Crops] is all about creativity and fun with vegetables," Phoff said.

Nienhuis bred a special variety of pumpkins in May for this fall's Pumpkin Regatta. Last year, Nienhuis said, the pumpkins were big and orange; this year the pumpkins were just as big, but featured an assortment of characteristics such as stripes and different colors.

Nienhuis said the special variety was accomplished by engineering a cross between the Atlantic Giant pumpkin and the Pink Banana pumpkin — which he added looks like Fred Flintstone's club — giving the pumpkins an elongated, "canoe-like" shape.

"We decided that anybody can have big," Nienhuis said. "But we wanted class, so we decided to actually breed them for speed."

Danielle Ploeckelman, president of the UW Horticulture Society, said beyond pumpkin breeding, the event required a great deal of preparation.

It took about two weeks for the society to prepare for the big day, Ploeckelman said, because the students in the club had to plan fund-raising activities. This year, the Horticulture Society sold cookies, brownies and pumpkins, and offered face painting to raise money.

Ploeckelman also said there is strategy to the pumpkin-racing competition. She said balance and intimidation tactics are important to keep in mind, and on Saturday, the wind was a factor as well.

"They want to balance yet go as fast as they can at the same time," Ploeckelman said. "And also put on a good show for all the people watching."

UW fifth-year senior Eli Lechter won the first heat of races on Saturday.

Lechter said he saw the inaugural Pumpkin Regatta last year when he was a sailing instructor and decided to participate in this year's race now that he is a Horticulture student.

Important pumpkin-racing strategy, according to Lechter, consists of leaning forward to keep a low center of gravity, paddling hard as the pumpkin seats do not allow much speed and trying to prevent the pumpkins from spinning.

With his previous kayaking experience, Lechter said he has taken part in similar activities, "but never in a squash."