Tractors’ pulling power draws the best crowds
The popular Claas-sponsored tractor pull will again be a feature of this year’s Central District’s Field Days at Manfeild.
Not only is it a crowd puller but it is growing in popularity with contestants, according to Tractor Pull New Zealand chairman Vaughan Coy.
It’s a busy time for Coy as it’s the height of the field days’ season and he is busy travelling from one end of the country to the other organising tractor pull competitions.
February saw him at the Te Puke A & P show, then it was straight on a plane to fly to Invercargill to attend the Southern Field Days at Waimumu, near Gore.
Immediately before the Central Districts Field Days, Coy will have spent the weekend in Mayfield, near Ashburton, running the tractor pull competition at the A & P Show, the first time it’s been held at this event. He headed home from there yesterday and heads to Feilding today.
All in all though it’s been a busy year for Coy who travelled to the United States to attend the 51st American national championships in Bowling Green, Ohio, not to be confused with Bowling Green, Kentucky, or any of the other five towns with the same name.
‘‘It was an amazing experience. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent on machines there. If we look at the Central Districts Field Days and compare them with the US national championships, it’s like comparing Feilding’s rippa rugby to the All Blacks. It’s a whole different stratosphere.
‘‘But then everything is bigger in America. It was awesome to be there.’’
But to be fair Tractor Pull America has been incorporated since 1969, whereas Tractor Pull New Zealand was established in 2009 and is sponsored by Diesel Performance Solutions.
Coy says there was a lot of interest in the New Zealand competition.
‘‘We use a load cell set up and people were quite intrigued at our Kiwi ingenuity.’’
Last year Tractor Pull NZ introduced the new load cell system that it had developed. They now use a percentage of the pulling tractor’s weight. Tractors are no longer grouped in weight classes or calibrated per tonne; it is now a pure percentage of the pulling tractor’s weight. There is no complicated maths to work out the calibrations, just a simple percentage across the board. A load cell reports the weight being pulled and the computer adjusts the sled to match the percentage it should be at any given distance.
‘‘This system provides a greater level of accuracy and makes for an even playing field. In a recent competition there were five tractors separated by just 80cm, which shows how accurate the system is.’’
Entries in the latest round of field days competitions have been strong and are around 25 per cent up on previous years.
There are three classes to the competition - standard, pre-85 and modifieds.
Traditionally on the Thursday there was a tractor pull competition among business houses and exhibitors but this isn’t happening this year, instead Thursday will be a practise day. Friday will see the annual Battle of the Brands when all dealers enter a tractor and battle it out to find the winning brand. There will also be further practice sessions.
Saturday is the big competition day when all three classes will compete.
Adding to the atmosphere is Coy’s lively commentary, telling spectators the competitors’ backgrounds and the distances covered. It’s entertaining, fun and not to be missed.