The latest news about Maine lakes and ponds.

Power Steering at the Winsor Fair

September 08, 2009 - WINDSOR -- The gees and haws echoed in the covered arena where drivers competed with their oxen teams to see who could pull a concrete-loaded sled the farthest in five minutes.

Some oxen successfully completed the gee and haw commands for turning with graceful symmetry, pulling the sled long distances in a straight line.

"Gee" is the command to turn right; "haw," to turn left.

Others, less inclined to pull the weight, felt the whip of their drivers.

Paul Arnold, of Vassalboro, came to the Windsor Fair on Thursday to watch the oxen pulls. He sat in the bleachers for first pulling event and stayed around for the sweepstakes.

"I was brought up on a farm," Arnold said while dipping French fries into ketchup and gobbling them up. "I enjoy watching them pull. It's fascinating to see those two big animals get in there and pull the loads they pull."

Bruce Currier, of Chesterville, and his father, Wayne Currier, of New Sharon brought two pair of oxen to compete in the 3,700-pound and sweepstakes weight classes, saying they were proud to carry on a family tradition.

Employed by Verso Paper in Jay, Bruce Currier said they travel to all the pulling events in Maine and recently competed in a United States-vs.-Canada oxen pull in Nova Scotia.

One team weighs 3,600 pounds. Buster and Bruno, an oxen crossbreed -- half chianina and half holstein -- weigh 5,300 pounds. They are the largest breeds in the dairy and beef industry.

"You can't make them do that," Currier said of oxen in pulling events. "We've had some who don't want to do it. You can't force dogs to chase birds. They have to want to do it, otherwise it takes all the fun out of it."

Thursday, his teams came in second in the 3,700-pound weight class and fourth in the 4,100-pound weight class.

His father, Wayne, a truck driver, said oxen pulling is a relaxing hobby. He exercises his animals on a trail that runs in back of his farm along the Sandy River.

"We've done it together since he was a little fella," Wayne Currier said. "My father did it before us. I had open heart surgery and they said to walk, so I said if I'm going to walk, I'm going to have a pair of oxen with me."

Lew Clark, of Morris, Conn., and his wife, Debbie, travel from fair to fair with their oxen, Sam and Pat.

Their yoked pair tip the scales at 4,100 pounds.

Clark said his family has competed in oxen pulls for generations.

"For us, this is a little vacation," he said after his team won second place, pulling 5,700 pounds.

"This is our life: pulls and bulls all summer. I enjoy it. It's a hobby. And just like anything else, it's expensive. Some people have boats, we have bulls."

Debbie Clark said she enjoys watching the pulling events and meeting people, especially in Maine, but said she leaves the team to her husband.

The bulls love her husband, but don't particularly care for her.

"They're moody," she said. "My husband is a good trainer, but you still want to proceed with caution. Like any animal, you never know."

BY MECHELE COOPER
Staff Writer, Kennebec Journal
9/4/09


Lakes:
Regions: Belgrade, Bangor, Mid Coast


Print this story

Email this story

return to Lake News