Kevin Danyluk achieved his best finish to date in the Calgary Stampede Heavy Horse Pull’s middleweight category last Saturday night: second place.
It was no cakewalk for Danyluk, who lives near Colinton and works as a welding inspector when he’s not training his teams.
“It was a very tough class. Everybody came there to win,” said Danyluk, adding that the event in the Agrium Western Events Centre was one of the most challenging pulls he’s been to in a long time.
His Belgians Bob and Dan pulled 11,500 pounds 84 inches to secure the second-best finish of the night and win $2,500.
His other team, Barney and Ace, pulled 10,500 pounds the same distance to place fourth and win $1,750.
To put those loads in context, it’s worth noting that Danyluk placed third in the middleweight category last year by pulling 9,500 pounds 38 inches — 1,000 fewer pounds than what garnered him fourth place this year.
In addition, Danyluk won Class of the Class this year, a tip of the hat given to a team and teamster that performed exceptionally well and “just did a nice, clean job,” said Danyluk.
Prior to the pull, each team is auctioned off to a sponsor. Both of Danyluk’s teams were sponsored by Eau Claire Distillery for $1,300 and $1,600.
The craft distillery, based in Turner Valley, has a special interest in heavy horses: it uses draft horses to farm some of the grains it uses for its beverages.
“(Crops are) planted with horsedrawn, taken off with horsedrawn,” said Danyluk of the artisanal operation.
And the vodka is good, too, said Danyluk: he swilled some in celebration after his success on Saturday night.
That celebratory spirit doesn’t mean Danyluk is ready to rest on his laurels.
“Next year we have to do our homework some more and see how we’re going to get that last load,” said Danyluk, setting his eyes on first place. “You take it year by year, right?”
