It was a great day for horse pulling at the Rochester Fair. The sun was shining and there wasn ’t a cloud in sight as the participants prepped their horses for the competition.
It was a great day for horse pulling at the Rochester Fair. The sun was shining and there wasn ’t a cloud in sight as the participants prepped their horses for the competition.
There were a total of nine participants at the heavy horse pull, each one looking to take home first place in their own respective weight class.
The competition was divided into three classes: lightweight, middleweight and heavyweight. With three competitors in each category, everyone was walking away with at least a top-three finish.
Roy Cust took home first place in the heavyweight division. He and his two horses, Baxter and Jesse, pulled 6,500 lbs the full 14 ft. to win the event.
Cust is no stranger to the Rochester Fair heavy horse pull, having been a participant in the event for many years
.“I come out here every year, ” said Cust. “I just come out to have fun and if I happen to win, then that ’s icing on the cake. ”
Cust beat his cousin Randy Cust in the final pull of the event. Randy and his two horses, Bill and Barney, were unsuccessful in pulling the load and stepped over the line during competition, disqualifying the team.
“They pulled it about halfway and we stepped over the line and that disqualified us, ” said Randy. “It ’s alright though -it's just all for fun, anyways. ” ;
When asked how it felt to beat his cousin, Roy modestly said, “Tomorrow he ’ll beat me, so what ’s the difference? ” ;
Randy would finish second in the heavyweight class and Tyke Tatarin would finish third.
Harold Shand would finish first in the middleweight division with his two horses, Itchy and Legacy. The team pulled a total of 5,500 lbs for the full pull, which was 1,746 lbs. over the horses ’ combined weight. ;
“It ’s not as good as the heavy class, ” joked Harold. “I was good enough to pull more then the guy behind me. It was a good pull, nice crowd, just a good place to be. It was a little hot though. ”
Shand managed to best Calgary Stampede second-place winner Kevin Danyluk, who coincidentally ended up placing second at the fair. Don Redford would place third in the middleweight division.
Barrie Reinhardt finished first in the lightweight division, pulling a 4,000 lb. load. His horses, Rex and Barney, pulled 1,327 lbs over their combined weight. Achile Borle would finish second with Allan Burch finishing third in the lightweight division.
