DUNSEITH (AP) - Lawn tractors have been racing around the International Peace Garden.

Eight participants turned out for Sunday's lawn tractor race at the park along the Canadian border, drawing a crowd along the 700-foot course.

Don Gienger, founder of the North Dakota Lawn Mower Racing Association, said he won the factory experimental class, and also was a flag man and an announcer.

"It was challenging, but it was fun," Gienger said Monday. "We just didn't have a lot of mowers to do an awesome show, but we did a good show."

The entries raced in two classes, depending on the size of their engines. Gienger said he and Brent Purdy, of Bismarck, won their classes.

"We (the International Peace Garden) wanted something to tie in the antique car show also going on during the races," said Aggie Buhler, the tourism promoter for Boissevain in Canada and the International Peace Garden. "We wanted to add a family fun event that people haven't potentially seen before and to give the North Dakota Lawn Mower Association exposure."

Gienger said the North Dakota group has just a handful of members who race at small towns and civic events. While the high cost of gasoline is hurting, he said, members save up gas money and try to keep costs down.

"These small towns can whip out a track, and then we roll in and put the show together," he said. "It's very exciting, very entertaining."