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Winston and I get a lot of enjoyment out of the small country fairs. Alberta doesn`t have the same kind of fall fair that eastern Canada does but they are entertaining all the same.They have line and driving classes for different breeds at some fairs,horse pulls and the superteam competition with its timed obstacle course. The teams, in the superteam, experience obstacles that a chore horse would have to perform on the farm. These competitions are great for teams and teamsters to show how well they perform as a unit. Winston has done extremely well at these competitions with lots of first place ribbons and many trips to the Canadian finals in Regina at the Agribition. [ELMER AND FLOYD DOING A FIGURE EIGHT AT THE REGINA AGRIBITION]
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[THIS PHOTO SHOW CEE DEE`S CARRIE`S GLORY IN THE CART CLASS] Glory was entered in the futurity for two year olds in 2003. We were thrilled when she won third in the competition. Winston`s greatest thrill though comes from starting a new team in the spring and watching them improve during the summer as they are driven. So far this spring we have started sixteen four year old percheron mares and are extremely pleased with the way they are driving. And that is what we do: sell the well broke teams and then start training the unbroke horses. There is something about the challenge of breaking horses to drive that Winston just loves to do. |
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Horse pulling is very popular in Alberta. According to the weight of the team, they are placed in three classes: heavy, medium or light. The team starts with an easy pull, then weight is added to the boat after each pull until the team can`t pull any more. The team that pulled the most weight is the winner. Horses have to be conditioned and taught manners at home to be successful at the competitions.[THE HEAVY TEAM, THUNDER AND BARNEY, ARE WORKING TOGETHER WHILE PULLING THE BOAT AT A PULLING COMPETITION.] |
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Many small shows will have driving events for farm teams but not many have clases for unicorn or four-up hitches. We are promoting more of these classes to try to get more people from the local communities to participate in the competitions in the future. It would be wonderful to see more teamsters bringing their teams out to the fairs just for the enjoyment of driving their horses. [THE UNICORN HITCH WITH ELMER, TESS AND FLOYD] |
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[THE FOUR-UP SHOW OUR PERCHERONS TESS,FLOYD, REX AND ELMER MOVING OUT AT A FAST TROT]
These are all horses we raised and trained so it really gives one a sense of pride to see them out at a show. As I mentioned before, it would be super to see more teams participating. |
