CATO - Even a heavy afternoon downpour couldn't stop the pulling at the third annual Cato Horse Pull.
Sam Tenney / The Citizen
Doug Smith drives his team of draft horses during Sunday's horse pull in Cato.
Doug Smith drives his team of draft horses during Sunday's horse pull in Cato.
The event, run by Brian Resseguie, a director with the New York State Horse Pullers Association, and in conjunction with the Cato Fire Department, drew competitors from all over the state and from as far away as Massachusetts and Vermont to participate in the competition.
Resseguie, of Ira, grew up with horse pulling and was eager to keep the tradition going in the Cato area.
“My dad was a charter member back when they started the association back in the '50s,” Resseguie said. “This is really something I was born into and have been doing all my life. There is a saying that the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man, that is what this is all about.”
Resseguie approached his friend Larry Wallace, fire chief, about holding a horse-pulling event at the site on North Street where the fire department hosts antique tractor pulls twice a year.
“They've got a great place here,” Resseguie said. “They do tractor pulls here and this is the perfect place for us. When I talked to him about it, he thought it was a great idea.”
Wallace eagerly agreed. Along with two antique tractor pulls and a calendar drive, the horse pull has become the fourth fundraiser the department participates in every year.
It's an arrangement that has worked out well for the department, which sets up tents and hosts a refreshments booth.
“It has gone well ever year,” Wallace said. “We're really pleased with how this has worked out. It has been really easy for us. We've got this spot and we set up the tents and make the food and Brian does all the work arranging everything. It has been a really good, fun event for us.”
The premise of horse pulling is just like the idea behind tractor pulls, save that horses, the original farm plows and tractors, take the place of mechanized equipment. A driver with a team of two horses start pulling a sled with 3,000 pounds on it. The team must pull the weight 27.5 feet.
Resseguie said that in the early 1900s, this weight and distance was determined by the University of Michigan to be the full horsepower of a horse.
The horses were broken into two divisions, light and heavyweight. Teams ran anywhere from 3,300 pounds combined all the way up to more than 5,200 pounds for the heavyweight class.
Resseguie said that Belgians and Percherons make the best horses for this kind of competition, as both breeds are known to be strong and powerful. Each round the weight is increased incrementally by a 1,000 pounds.
This year drew 10 competitors in the lightweight division and nine teams in the heavyweight.
Considering the expense of gas and that many competitors traveled from out of state, Resseguie was pleased with the turnout.
“This just gets into your blood,” Resseguie said. “A lot of these guys probably spent $300 just to get here and compete for the chance to win $100. This is just something you have to love to do.”
Rick McCullock and his father Leon traveled from Romulus to compete for the second year in Cato. The love of the sport has been passed down from one generation to the next in the McCullock family.
“My father is 81,” Rick said. “So he has been doing this for a while and he got me into it.
This is a good pull. It is competitive, but it is also really friendly and everybody is really here to have a good time.“
Many of the competitors who traveled to Cato are well acquainted with one another from various pulls held around the area.
“We all pretty much know each other,” said Doug Smith, of Richford. “We all go to all the same pulls all the time. I've been here since this one started; it looks like a really good turnout this year.”
And even after the sky opened up and dumped rain all over the pull area, the competition went on and spectators stayed to watch.
David and Arby Shurtleff, of Cato, are retired dairy farmers. David said he used to use horses as plow animals and both enjoy having the chance to watch the pulls.
“They used to do this around here all the time,” David said. “We just enjoy getting out and watching the horses, it is a fun event.”
Since establishing the pull in Cato, Resseguie has also got the horse pulls going at the Cayuga County Fair in Weedsport again after a 25 year absence. Resseguie said the next pull will be held at the Cayuga County Fair on July 4.
Resseguie, of Ira, grew up with horse pulling and was eager to keep the tradition going in the Cato area.
“My dad was a charter member back when they started the association back in the '50s,” Resseguie said. “This is really something I was born into and have been doing all my life. There is a saying that the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man, that is what this is all about.”
Resseguie approached his friend Larry Wallace, fire chief, about holding a horse-pulling event at the site on North Street where the fire department hosts antique tractor pulls twice a year.
“They've got a great place here,” Resseguie said. “They do tractor pulls here and this is the perfect place for us. When I talked to him about it, he thought it was a great idea.”
Wallace eagerly agreed. Along with two antique tractor pulls and a calendar drive, the horse pull has become the fourth fundraiser the department participates in every year.
It's an arrangement that has worked out well for the department, which sets up tents and hosts a refreshments booth.
“It has gone well ever year,” Wallace said. “We're really pleased with how this has worked out. It has been really easy for us. We've got this spot and we set up the tents and make the food and Brian does all the work arranging everything. It has been a really good, fun event for us.”
The premise of horse pulling is just like the idea behind tractor pulls, save that horses, the original farm plows and tractors, take the place of mechanized equipment. A driver with a team of two horses start pulling a sled with 3,000 pounds on it. The team must pull the weight 27.5 feet.
Resseguie said that in the early 1900s, this weight and distance was determined by the University of Michigan to be the full horsepower of a horse.
The horses were broken into two divisions, light and heavyweight. Teams ran anywhere from 3,300 pounds combined all the way up to more than 5,200 pounds for the heavyweight class.
Resseguie said that Belgians and Percherons make the best horses for this kind of competition, as both breeds are known to be strong and powerful. Each round the weight is increased incrementally by a 1,000 pounds.
This year drew 10 competitors in the lightweight division and nine teams in the heavyweight.
Considering the expense of gas and that many competitors traveled from out of state, Resseguie was pleased with the turnout.
“This just gets into your blood,” Resseguie said. “A lot of these guys probably spent $300 just to get here and compete for the chance to win $100. This is just something you have to love to do.”
Rick McCullock and his father Leon traveled from Romulus to compete for the second year in Cato. The love of the sport has been passed down from one generation to the next in the McCullock family.
“My father is 81,” Rick said. “So he has been doing this for a while and he got me into it.
This is a good pull. It is competitive, but it is also really friendly and everybody is really here to have a good time.“
Many of the competitors who traveled to Cato are well acquainted with one another from various pulls held around the area.
“We all pretty much know each other,” said Doug Smith, of Richford. “We all go to all the same pulls all the time. I've been here since this one started; it looks like a really good turnout this year.”
And even after the sky opened up and dumped rain all over the pull area, the competition went on and spectators stayed to watch.
David and Arby Shurtleff, of Cato, are retired dairy farmers. David said he used to use horses as plow animals and both enjoy having the chance to watch the pulls.
“They used to do this around here all the time,” David said. “We just enjoy getting out and watching the horses, it is a fun event.”
Since establishing the pull in Cato, Resseguie has also got the horse pulls going at the Cayuga County Fair in Weedsport again after a 25 year absence. Resseguie said the next pull will be held at the Cayuga County Fair on July 4.
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