Dalton Thayer, 17, of Piermont, at his family's home Monday. The junior at
Rivendell Academy in Orford says he can't remember when he was not around
horses, and has owned several teams of Belgians.
PIERMONT Dalton Thayer can't remember a time when he wasn't around horses.
Big horses. Horses 19 hands tall and weighing a ton. Beasts of burden bred to
pull large loads.
They have a picture of me on one when I was a year old, said Thayer, now 17,
as he worked Monday to get his two Belgians, Chocolate Bob and Mike, under
harness at his barn in the Piermont hills just below Mount Moosilauke. The
nearby stone wall on the property of his parents, Peter and Michele Thayer,
marks the boundary between Piermont and Pike, a section of Haverhill.
He works the draft horses most days, having them pull large loads in
preparation for the competition at summer fairs that will keep him traveling
most weekends throughout the warm weather.
But this week, the junior at Rivendell Academy in Orford is preparing for a
horse pull in which neither he nor his horses will take part as contestants.
Before they can graduate, Rivendell students must complete either a career
internship or an Upper House Project. That's an effort designed for them to
employ the critical thinking, communication skills, use of technology and
interdisciplinary abilities they've developed.
In his written statement for the project proposal, Thayer said, I have chosen
to do an Upper House Project and put together a horse pull to benefit the
North Haverhill Fair Association for improvements to their livestock pulling
area.
And so the horse pulling competition he's been busy organizing is set to take
place Sunday at the North Haverhill Fairgrounds. Thayer's goal is to raise
$1,750 for expenses and prize money, and he said Monday he's getting close.
I had $1,500 as of yesterday, he said, some of it coming in the form of
contributions from local merchants. Still, the effort hasn't been easy.
Buying ribbons, trophies, getting insurance, having a food booth on the
grounds, arranging for portable toilets and trash collection, advertising,
attracting participants, finding helpers to work the ring, bringing in
announcers, scorekeepers, ticket sellers
the list goes on, Thayer
discovered.
But hours from now, he now expects the pulling in two classes, over 3,450
pounds, and under that weight, to take place as scheduled. All gate receipts
from the $5 per person admission as well as money raised in 50-50 raffles
will go to the fair association for improvements to the livestock area, or
however fair administrators see fit, he said.
The competition starts at 11 a.m.
Follow-up Article:
HAVERHILL A Rivendell Academy junior from Piermont said he exceeded his
fundraising goal Sunday when he ran a horse pulling competition at the North
Haverhill Fairgrounds. The event attracted more than 230 spectators, and 14
teams of draft horses and handlers from throughout the region.
The school project was designed to raise money for the North Haverhill Fair
Association.
I raised over $1,300, Dalton Thayer, 17, said Sunday night. I was hoping
for $500 to $1,000.
Nine pair of large workhorses competed in the under 3,450-pound weight class,
pulling a sled weighted with stone for distance. Sean Kelly of Milan in New
Hampshire's North Country was the winner of that competition, according to
Thayer.
Peter Hanafan of Massachusetts and his horses took the prize in the heavier
weight class, he said. The events ran from 11 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m.
Before they can graduate, Rivendell students must complete either a career
internship or an Upper House Project. That's an effort designed for them to
employ the critical thinking, communication skills, use of technology and
interdisciplinary abilities they've developed.
It's also meant for students to make a connection to their community and
collaborate with others outside the classroom.
In his written statement for the project proposal, Thayer said, I have chosen
to do an Upper House Project and put together a horse pull to benefit the
North Haverhill Fair Association for improvements to their livestock pulling
area, or he said, whatever use fair association administrators deem most
useful.
Thayer usually enters his own team of Belgians in pulls throughout the summer,
but instead left them home Sunday as he oversaw events at the fairgrounds, and
helped set stone on the sled, using his grandfather's tractor.