Dennis Weinberger of Cochrane poses besides a picture of he and his horses that hadn’t been beaten in a Pull for five straight years. that is used to promote the Calgary Stampede Heavy Horse Pull
There was someone definitely missing in this year’s competition
at the 2013 Calgary Stampede Heavy Horse Pull. He is dwarfed by
his huge Belgian horses, but is a giant among teamsters in the
Heavy Horse world. He is Cochrane’s own Dennis Weinberger, one of
the most winning drivers in Heavy Horse Pull competition in the
history of the Calgary Stampede.
He has won the Heavy Horse Pull championship at the Stampede 18
times, in three different classes, light, middle and heavyweight,
over the course of 17 years, before he retired from competing in
Canada in 2012, right after he broke the record, again. He also
had a pair of Belgian horses that never lost a competition for
five years straight.
“I hold the record here at 13,400 pounds,” Weinberger smiled.
“The record was 13,300 pounds when I broke it, and I had the
record at 13,200 pounds before it was broken.”
Dennis Weinberger hasn’t retired entirely from the Heavy Horse
Pull event, he still competes in the United States but not in
Canada anymore.
“I moved all my pull horses to the States,” exclaimed Weinberger.
“I compete in the States but I don’t pull in Canada anymore. When
the Stampede is over I’ll fly down there and start competing.”
Weinberger says the teams are much more competitive in the United
States and therefore it is much harder to win a competition.
“One weekend you may win it and the next weekend you place eighth,
and there are only four feet apart between first place and eighth
place,” Weinberger explained. “It is a little different down
there. Nobody dominates!”
Since Weinberger has withdrawn from Canadian competition and
competing at the Calgary Stampede he hasn’t really missed being
part of the action, even though he grew up dreaming of attending
the Calgary fair.
“I grew up in Saskatchewan and the idea of even coming to the
Calgary Stampede was like going to another planet,” he laughed.
“So to be able to pull here, compete here, and then to go on to
win here, that was like going to another universe. It was a big
deal to me for a long, long time, but after coming here for 17
years in a row, I really don’t miss it. I am happy what I am
doing right now.”
patrick.price@sunmedia.ca