Mr. Orlo Tonkel and his father Oscar pulled horses from the early 1940's to 1954.  An injury to the senior Mr. Tonkel necessitated a switch to ponies.  A switch back to draft horses occurred in the early 1990's.  Orlo Tonkel, a knowledgeable dependable competitor, brought out well trained, good handling teams and traveled many miles each season supporting dynamometer pulls.  He has attended the Association's annual meetings for well over 25 years, voicing his opinions and sharing his knowledge of the dynamometer. 

Placing ninth at the 2000 Michigan Great Lakes International is one of his favorite pulling memories.

Mr. Tonkel has been a farmer and a service station owner.  He retied as superintendent of Public Works for the city of Reading in 1989, retired from logging with horses in 2004 and retired from pulling in 2005.  Orlo still works the horses at home though.   Son Dave does the harnessing and driving in competition. 

In a phrase, Orlo Tonkel is the type of member and competitor we all need to keep the sport of horsepulling alive and flourishing. 

Photo courtesy of Cecil Darnell