North Texas

Farmer Puts Teens to Work After Catching Them ‘Mudding'

“I said why don't we teach them a lesson instead,” Clint Rutledge explained

If you have ever lived in the country, you've probably gone "mudding."

It's when people — usually teens — drive off road, spinning their tires in muddy areas.

It may sound like fun, but mudding can cause major damage to farmland.

Clint Rutledge, owner of Gidney Farms in McKinney, Texas, says it happens every time it rains.

Last Saturday, after days of rain, he says he caught a group of teens mudding in one of his fields.

It could be considered a crime, but instead of picking up the phone to call the law, Rutledge picked up rakes and shovels instead.

“I said why don't we teach them a lesson instead,” he explained.

Rutledge posted video on Facebook showing the teenagers filling in row after row of ruts they created.

He says they worked for about an hour and a half using tools and their bare hands.

“Maybe they’ll get more out of that than a fine or anything,” he said.

Rutledge says it will take years for the land to return to normal. He hopes the takeaway for the teens last a lifetime.

"Some of these kids these days don't know what hard work and what us farmers go through," he said. "So they got a little dose of that on Saturday."

Contact Us