Al6—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 8,1980 Ledyard drafts muscle their way to the top BY SHEILA MILLER HARRISBURG - Was it a case of over-confidence’or just a bad gamble for the Benham. brothers of Osgood, Indiana? That is one ques tion that will probably never be answered, but it’s a deci sion that the Benham’s would probably like to recon sider. In competition that literal ly put the crowd at the se cond annual horse pulling contest at the Farm Equip ment Exposition on the edge of their seats, the Benham Brothers team of Belgian draft horses and their teamster declined their se cond and final pull m the heavy weight contest. With 9200 pounds on the stone sled, the Benham team had displayed pure horse power in dragging their load a distance of 13 feet, 4 in ches. The only other team still in the contest out of the 31 that started was a team of Belgians owned and driven by Max Ledyard, of Waldron, Michigan. In their first attempt to out-distance the Benham team, the muscle-bound equmes drove in to their col lars and pulled the sled 11 feet, 7 inches. As the announcer pleaded with the crowd of spectators to “honor the pull” and not make any noise to distract the horses, the huge drafts lurched against the load at their teamster’s loud “here”. But, despite their valiant effort, they only suc ceeded m dragging the heavy load 7 feet, 11 mches The teamster unhitched his team and went back to his Number 30 position against the arena wall to await the Benham’s final pull. The announcer blasted through the loud speaker the Benham’s decision to forfeit their final pull, and in a mat ter of minutes the Ledyard team was on its way back to the 9200 pound load. Ledyard quieted his team after the evener was hitched to the sled. The horses danc ed, with their sides heaving and dripping with sweat Suddenly, the crowd witnessed a feat of strength and stamina The Ledyard BULK BINS A Good Investment. We know your bulk feeding problems, and we know that Read systems can solve them We stand behind Read quality because Read engineers design for adaptability, economy and long-life It makes good sense to invest in strength and experience Let us show you Read Reliability. THOMAS FARM SYSTEMS, INC. 2025 Horseshoe Road Lancaster, PA 17601 PH; (717) 299-1706 your local <l ») Steel Products dealer Max Ledyard, of Waldron, Michigan, accepts the heavyweight championship trophy from Secretary Hallowed. His team of Belgians, Fred, left, and Jim, stun ned the Expo crowd with their 24 foot, 3 inch pull with a load of 9200 pounds. Robert Decker, of Garrett, was the high placing Pennsylvania team in the Fri day evening heavyweight pulls. Making the presentation was Secretary of Agriculture Penrose Hallowed, right, and Assistant Secretary Chet Heim. team gathered for the final effort and when the whistle blew, the judge measured the pull at 24 feet, 3 inches. The crowd was on its feet and the announcer had to shout to be heard above the cheers. The Ledyard team had pulled off the champion ship of the Expo’s heavyweight horse pull One of the factors that may have influenced the Benham’s decision to forfeit their last pull was, in the ef fort of.their team’s final pull, one horse fell. Several men aided the animal in its at tempts to struggle to its feet without entangling itself and its teammate in harness and hooves The next three places m the heavyweight over 3200 pound, were taken by teams pulling 8600 pounds In third place was George Duvall’s team, from Beaver Dam, Kentucky, with a pull of 20 f eet, 8 inches. Elhs Derry, Zanesville, Ohio, came in fourth with a pull of 18 feet, 1 inch. And, Bert Gilkmson, of Versailles, Kentucky, was m fifth place with 8 feet, 6 in ches A NA-CHURS VV PLANT FOOD ® co ‘ PROVIDES ANNUAL SOIL TESTING FOR MAJOR ELEMENTS AND MINOR TRACE ELEMENTS TO BALANCE YOUR SOIL FOR HIGHER YIELD POTENTIAL Contact the Na-Churs Dealer ‘ In your area: EASTERN PA. CENTRAL PA. WESTERN PA. JOE SEQUINE ROY LARRY REAM (215)536 2796 SHERTZER (814)395 5030 (717)872-7342 CENTRAL PA. MARYLAND PHARESAUKER HENRY OWENS (717)367-2667 (301)848-9224 The top Pennsylvania team was owned and driven by Robert W. Decker, Gar rett. Placing twelfth in the over-all contest, Decker’s Belgian’s dropped out of the contest with a load of 7800 pounds and a pull of 6 feet 5 inches. In both the heavyweight and lightweight pulling con tests, the teamster who displayed the best horsemanship was selected. Winner m the heavy drafts was Charles Winder, of Durham, Connecticut, with his team Tim and Rock Winder has been driving horses since he was small, (Turn to Page AI7)
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