| No horsing around at fair pull |
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| Written by MICHELLE REITER Sentinel Staff Writer | ||||
| Saturday, 04 August 2012 07:51 | ||||
But then the cement bricks start piling up in the sled and it gets harder: Wednesday night's horse pull at the Wood County Fair, lightweight division, went from 3,000 pounds to 5,000 pounds, capping off at 10,500 pounds. Even lightweight horses are about 3,000 pounds of solid, rippling muscle, and by the time they begin pulling 10,500 pounds the scene transforms into 20 seconds of power and drama. First you hear a rumbling clatter of chain, cement and metal as horses tug the sled forward. Then, as the horses pull, their hooves pound the dirt of the track and dig in, just trying to budge the load. Most can, but not at full pull - they may only be able to move the sled a couple of feet, but they can often give the load another try to improve their length. Wednesday's horse pull in the grandstand featured 13 competitors in the lightweight division and 14 in the heavyweight division, and lasted until 11:30 p.m., after the fair closed. It followed the pony and mule pulls earlier in the day, and showcased draft horse drivers from Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and even Canada. It was its first year to be dubbed the "National Pulling Championship," a label horse pull coordinator David Chamberlain hoped would draw crowds. There was indeed a healthy crowd when the pulls began at 7, but it thinned throughout the night. "I expected a little more," Chamberlain said Wednesday night. "I think it was just so hot today, people stayed where it was cool." The pulls themselves were high entertainment for Chamberlain and other horse pull enthusiasts, however, as the sheer power of the horses and skill of the drivers was impressive, Chamberlain said. He enjoyed a front-row view of the pulls next to the announcer's booth, and was delighted with what he saw.
At the end of the night, the heavyweights were pulling 13,000 pounds of cement in the sled. A heavyweight horse had to weigh more than 3,321 pounds, but none of them weighed anywhere near the weight they were pulling. It's a sport limited to a shrinking number of people who own draft horses, some of whom are Amish or Mennonite families who still use draft horses for farming. A few of those families competed Wednesday night. If the number of participants and devotees of the horse pulls are small, there are a some who follow the pulls from fair to fair. One fairgoer said he saw some of the participants at the Wood County Fair horse pull earlier in the day at the pull in Monroe County, Michigan. He knew the sport well enough to spot a pony competing in the featherweight class, and enough to be surprised when a mare competed. Mares are smaller and almost never compete. Animal rights activists have been after horse pull participants for the use of the animals, but Chamberlain refers to the horses as trained athletes. They often pull for less than a minute at a time, just long enough to demonstrate their brute strength. Whether going "national" will kick start interest in the horse pulls remains uncertain, but as far as Chamberlain is concerned, the competition is top-notch. "Every one was great this year," he said. "I don't know how we could improve on it." |
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