The traditional heavy horse pulls and log skid events were a highlight of the Rochester Centennial Fair over the weekend. The horse competitions drew in a large crowd to see horses negotiate obstacles and pull over and above their own weight.
The traditional heavy horse pulls and log skid events were a highlight of the Rochester Centennial Fair over the weekend. The horse competitions drew in a large crowd to see horses negotiate obstacles and pull over and above their own weight.
In the log skid, drivers had to steer their horses through four sets of pylons while pulling a 16-foot log. The goal is to have the horses avoid touching the pylons and stay within the track. Each team starts with 100 points and is deducted 10 points for every foul.
After each team completes the course, they try to stop exactly one, two and three feet from their final position at the end of the track. Each stop-and-go action is measured in inches, noted Diane Fankhanel, an official from the Central Alberta Horse Pulling Club.
“Some of the drivers train the horses a lot for these kinds for competitions and they are very precise in what they can do with their horses, ” Diane said.
Diane ’s husband Brian Fankhanel was so precise with his team of Jake and King that he came in first place in the log skids with 90 points and only went 7.5 inches over the three-foot mark. Following in a close second was Calvin Specil with Mike and Baldie, who came in with a total of 70 points and 52 inches over. Specil also competed with his second team of horses, Ben and Buddy, and they came in third place with 60 points and 76 inches over.
The heavy pull competition saw 15 teams from all over the province. Weight is placed on a pull boat, starting at 2,000 pounds and increased 500 pounds at a time. Scores are marked by how much over their combined weight the horses can pull. For a team to have a good pull, they much move the boat a total of 14 feet.
Diane noted that in other competitions she has helped officiate, some teams have managed to pull up to 5,500 pounds over their own weight, which really is a site to see.
“The best pulls are at the end when the number of teams gets lower and the weight gets higher, ” she said. “The horses really love doing this and showing off. If they don ’t want to or can ’t, they start to buck, but you can tell they are excited to show off. ”
In the lightweight division, Dave McKnight came in first place with Benny and Missy who pulled 2,001 over their own weight. Second place went to Henry Breton Giant with Sunny and Shorty who pulled 1,697 pounds over their weight. Third place went to one of Ernest Gadwa ’s teams, King and Jay, who were driven by Hanson Breton and pulled 910 pounds over their own weight.
For the medium weights, first place went to J.R. Breton who was driving for Henry Breton Giant ’s team of Charlie and Sam. They pulled 2,166 pounds over their combined weight of 3,305. Second place went to Achiel Borle with Big Fellow and Champ, who pulled 1,697 pounds over their weight. Third pace went to Tyke Tataryn with Ben and Jack, who pulled 1,092 pounds over their weight.
Finally, in the heavyweight category, first place went to Brian Fankhanel with Jake and King who managed to pulled 2,270 pounds over their own weight. Second place went to Roy Cust with Smokie and Jessie who pulled 2,056 over their own weight. Third place went to Roy Cust as well with his second team of Bokkie and Sid, who pulled 1,927 pounds over their own weight.
