Talk about your home-field advantage...

The next time Hope Beaman mows her five-acre property in west-central Indiana, she can thank Dixie Chopper for turning a seven-hour chore into little more than an hour of what she calls "fun".

That's because Hope and David Beaman are the 2008 winners of the Dixie Chopper-Indianapolis Colts mower giveaway. Although they reside closer to Belle Union, Ind., the Beamans actually have a Fillmore address and live about 10-15 minutes from Dixie Chopper's Coatesville/Fillmore facility.

What makes their selection a little more special this year is that the blue, Colts-themed mower will be staying in the area. It is one of only three blue-and-white Silver Eagle mowers Dixie Chopper built for the Colts' 2008 season (one is on display at Lucas Oil Stadium and the other was used by the Colts mascot during halftime activities).

Hope won the mower by sending a postcard reply to a trivia question on the "Colts Up Close" TV show. Viewers did that all season and a Dixie Chopper Silver Eagle mower was the end-of-the-year grand prize in a drawing of those postcard entries.

"That's my new toy," Hope beamed when she first laid eyes on the mower being ridden by Blue, the Indianapolis Colts mascot. "Boy, I'll have fun with that," she added.

After taking the mower for a spin herself, Hope was even more impressed. "It handles real smooth," she said. "Like riding in a brand new car."

The Silver Eagle mower features a 60-inch cutting deck and a 27-hp Generac engine along with such other Dixie Chopper staples as stainless steel fenders, a patented operator-controlled discharge chute and electric blade engagement.

"This is a really fine machine," David Beaman smiled, knowing he can now dispose of an old 50-inch lawn tractor that made mowing the five-acre property a seven- or eight-hour job. "This mower has got everything it should have - and way more!"

The Beamans were presented with their Dixie Chopper Jan. 26 at the indoor practice facility at the Colts Complex on the West Side of Indianapolis They were joined in the ceremony by relatives Pat and Art Elston of nearby Zionsville.

"Colts Up Close" TV host Jeffrey Gorman joined Dixie Chopper Media Marketing Manager Rick Judy and Colts mascot Blue in presenting the mower to the Beamans. Dixie Chopper has been a sponsor of "Colts Up Close" the past four years and has given a mower away each season. The first two years the winners were from Brownsburg, Ind., while the 2007 season winner came from Alexandria.

Dixie Chopper, an Indiana-made product, is the official lawn mower of the Indianapolis Colts. The company has plants in Greencastle and Coatesville/Fillmore. Founded in 1980, it builds zero-turning radius lawn mowers powered by gasoline, diesel or propane engines and is known as "The World's Fastest Lawn Mower."

Blue helps Hope Beaman start up her new Dixie Chopper Colts mower... before she solos (below).