What’s a pony pull? Find out today at the Adams County Fair

by Melissa Shriver-Hackemack

The Adams County Fair will be the site of one of the largest Pony Pulls in the nation as the fair enters its second day on Thursday.

Pulling teams are expected from as far away as Kentucky and Louisiana to compete in this year’s event at the Adams County Fair. Pony Pulls are a lot like a tractor pull, but with pure pony-power muscle doing the pulling.

Ponies are weighed, then begin with a pulling weight on their sled that is 200 percent of what the ponies weigh.  The pull requires the teams to pull a distance of six feet to move on in the competition.

Pulling ponies aren’t like the horses or ponies you see around every day.  These animals are stocky and strong.  They don’t get that way overnight.  Much like Olympic athletes, pulling ponies workout daily by dragging a weighted sled for two hours.

All that work pays off.  Many of the ponies coming to the Adams County Fair Thursday will be pulling 450-500 percent of their weight, which can add up to upwards of 2,050 pounds. The top ponies in the nation will be pulling in Thursday’s show, and there is a big reason they are traveling hundreds of miles to get to the Adams County Fair.

The Adams County Fair is offering up a total of a $3,000 purse to the winner of the pull.  That money, donated by Wyffels Hybrids (Dave Kraushaar) and Frazier Farms (Stan and Diane Frazier), have given this Pony Pull a big time push that has pullers from all over the nation heading to west-central Illinois.

Normally a pull will attract 12-15 teams of pulling horses.  Organizers expect double that Thursday with teams traveling in from as far away as Kentucky and Louisiana.

Thursday, July 29 at the Adams County Fair:

Weigh-in: 3:30p.m.

Pony Pull Action:  6:30p.m.