Melissa pulling Bob in the singles class at the
Bridgewater Exhibition where they finished third out of thirty-one entries.
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Melissa M. Merry
from Maitland Bridge Nova Scotia started pulling horses nine years ago.
She began by competing in single horse competitions but at the urging of her
husband Glenn she tried pulling his horses, a pair of dapple grays Tim (6) and
Dixie (9) in a team competition and enjoyed it so much she later bought her own
team. Melissa competes in the 2800-3200 lb. class with her pair of
Belgians Bob (8) and Jock (5). She pulls solely in Nova Scotia but annually
attempts to become the first lady to qualify for the International pull in
Cumberland Maine by finishing in the top three at the qualifier held at the
Bridgewater Exhibition each year. As well as pulling horses Melissa makes
her living working with horses as a tour guide giving horse and buggy rides in
Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Her two favorite pulls to compete in are her local
pull held in May where there's a little spousal competition as well as the
qualifier in Bridgewater in July. Melissa's two oldest children Rebecca
(12) and Cameron (9) also compete in the annual kids pull at their local fair.
She considers her proudest accomplishment as the pay off for all the hard work
she puts into working her horses. "If I can walk away knowing my horses
pulled good then that means more to me then winning a pull. It's always
nice to hear people say I did a good job or the horse pulled well".
Melissa was once told that horsepulling was no place for women. "I would
just like to say...I beg to differ and after hearing many compliments about how
well I do...I feel right at home". |