Recruiting Horsepullers
    It seems like we have a lot more deaths in at least my area than we have new pullers? Are others experiencing the same, and does anyone have any ideas for making the sport enticing to newcomers?

One way to get more horse pullers would be not to have some pullers show up with 3 pair in each class. with horses that cost on averege $25.000 each or more. it is very hard to compete with all that money

[q]On Wednesday, June 9, 2010 at 08:29 AM horspuller57 wrote:
One way to get more horse pullers would be not to have some pullers show up with 3 pair in each class. with horses that cost on averege $25.000 each or more. it is very hard to compete with all that money[]unfortuntely you and me will never see that day, but you have definately spoken the truth here. In the 70's and 80's nobody enjoyed horse pulling as much as me and my dad and yes, we could hold our own. Every horse pull we went to we felt that we had a chance at the top spot...and a puller has to know that he has a chance. But today, it is a guarantee that he does not have a chance for any of the top 3 positions unless he is the one with the money backing. And again, a man has to know he has a chance. We lived and breathed horse pulling, but in the 90's it became a sport of who had the most money to buy those high priced horses and drugs. There is no longer a sport of "horse pulling" and that to me is extremely sad!

why don't you get off the computer and go work your horses and maybe you can be in the top three you whine ass.

Talking about the money, it is kind of like college basketball. Butler can make it to the final four, but it is going to take them a few years to develop the talent once that group leaves, whereas Kentucky and Duke recruit the top athletes year after year. We without money can't replace a good horse immediately, and usually can't find two ready to compete at the top level at the same time. It takes a few years to develop prospects into top horses, and a while to rebuild if one goes down. As far as the drugs, they are called "performance-enhancing" drugs for a reason, and without testing, it is difficult to compete. But I operate under the idea that it may be more difficult to compete with the high priced horses, but it is just going to take me longer to get a pair to that level, and be satisfied at making progress. But the question is: what can we do about it? How do we make it better? I am 32 years old and want this passion of mine to be a lifelong one, not something that is going to die when I am still wanting to and capable of doing it.

one way to get more horses to the pulls is to make champions out of the top pullers where they pull aginst each other and make another class where lesser horses pull aginst each other. I think fuel prices is what hurting the sport.----Curtis

wow why dont we cry ....a better idea the babys start a club pull and you guys argue and cry with each other ...i dont want to be part of that club ....my goal is to try to beat the best ....money is an EXCUSE and im a poor person.... 90% of the horse pullers couldnt take SMUCK AND BOB and win ....another idea for some would be farm or barefoot pull and dont forget there are tennis ball in the tuna can pulls

Chuck couldn't of said it any better!

It is too bad that people can't express an opinion regarding a legitimate concern without being belittled by others. Just something for you to ponder. Isn't it interesting that farm or barefoot pulling is becoming more popular all the time as the numbers in the "professional" pulls continue to decline.

Thanks BILL ..... digger dont know what part of the country you live but horsepulling is doing good here....i would rather lose to Chris or whoever than win a farm or barefoot pull....everybody hates a consistant winner ....maybe you and uno should split up and put your two best horses together ...if people dont like pulling against the best horses in the country , BUY A LAWN CHAIR ....THIS IS JUST AN OPINION FROM A COMPETIVE PERSON

Chuck, not sure where you are from either but I can't see where you can say horsepulling is doing as well now as it was even 5-10 years ago. Long time pulls have disapeered, fairs are paying fewer and less premiums and what about entry numbers? You used to be able to point to the big pulls in the country and know before you left the yard that there would be 20-30 teams in a class. Where can you go now where you will see that many entries? I'm not saying I prefer a barnyard pull. I most definitely do not but I'm also not blind to the issues facing horsepulling today. No doubt it's a topic that should be given more thought.

I am not complaining about competition. I see what Chris Hatfield and the Brown Brothers, among others, have done on this website, and have been up against Chris once with a pair I had won a lot of pulls with, finishing two rounds off (although they were "tennis ball in the tuna can" pulls and that rule has thankfully been voted out) and like I said before, I want to get at least close to that level. Every time someone comes along and raises the bar, others eventually take the challenge and figure out what it takes to compete. That is not the issue that I am talking about. The issue as I see it is how few new names are on the list of winners, and a lot more expressions of condolences to those who have gone. I would love to pass this love of mine to my kids, as it was passed to me by my dad and grandpa, but my oldest is 7, and I am having a hard time seeing especially the smaller organizations staying alive long enough. I am a teacher, and I can't imagine most of the kids I deal with, even the ones I think are really good kids, being willing to spend the time and effort it takes to learn this sport. It really isn't something you can just pick up from scratch, you need to understand horses, and then spend time learning all the details. I was really hoping someone had some kind of idea of a successful pattern for drawing in others, something that has worked for them. If not, I think it is a responsibility of all of us involved to do our best to draw not just more pulls and spectators, but more competitors into the sport. This website does a spectacular service to our sport and its promotion, but we need to get more active in drawing interested people in and helping them get started in the competitive end of things.

I did not see anyone dishing Chris or any one else. I look at the results most every day have seen the teams in each class drop.

I'm fairly new to the sport (actually competeing, 3-4 years), I have learned there are dues to be paid. The dues could be buying the right type of horse, figuring out the exercise program that fit the horses and your schedule. some where in there you have to properly adjust collars, hames and the rest of the harness. When you are learning, these issues are big and if not tended too could defeat you before you enter the pulling ring. All this is time comsuming,( and very expensive) this I believe is at the heart of the reason this sport is not catching on with people outside of the pulling families. As for the big money horses, if I had the money I would buy them, I don't. I like to pull with the big money people once in awhile, I usually ask them question to help my horses, ie my whole program. I have learned a lot pulling with these guys,it takes a lot of time before they let you in, keep pulling and they help you. I do not hold anything against them. Pulling with them you will learn how to compete. I do enjoy going to pulls where the Big Money people do not go, I do not always win, but I feel i can compete with the horse in the ring. I talk to young guys who have had horses in the past, They tell me it's not the competition that they gave the sport up for now, it was the cost and all the (hours and family)time required to be competitive. With this economy i believe things are not going to get any cheaper. I feel Blessed to pull horses no matter where and who I pull against. I personally got into the sport to be able to drive a team of horses in competition, any competition.

That was a very good honest post June Bug.....horsepuller 57 oh oh oh ok .....Im thinking about getting ahold of Phillip Burton and having him put on a clinic for people that think that it takes alot of money to be competitive....Phillip doesnt worry about anything but competing and is a nice guy and top horsepuller....for peple making excuses that dont know Phillip check around HE IS A TRUE HORSEMAN THAT DOESNT SPEND MUCH MONEY AND IS ALWAYS TOUGH TO BEAT

I think June Bug refers to several real and pressing problems, but while we can't control what the economy does, and that does affect the number of horsepullers, it is the dues that must be paid that we already in the sport can help with. If each concerned horse puller would seek out at least one interested person, and take the time to help that person get started, to spread the sport beyond just family for the good of the sport, it would help immensely. If we intend to preserve the sport, we have to infuse it with some new blood from the bottom up. I am really sorry that I have engaged in the discussion about the difficulty of competing, as it really isn't the point I want to make. Each pull needs a last place team just as much as a first place team. There can only be one of each. For the good of the sport, we need more of all types, those who are in it to be the best and those who enjoy the camaraderie among pullers and the spiritual satisfaction of working with these animals. There is a puller in our association who has been at it for close to 30 years. He won his first contest last year, and found himself back at the middle to bottom for the rest of the year. But he religiously goes to twice as many pulls as I do, supporting the sport even at the cost of the success of his horses. He truly loves doing it, not the winning, but the process, the thrill of working with the horses and doing it in front of a crowd. We could all use a little more of that in us and in our associations.

kinlee i will say yeah it used to be a sport but it is not anymore it has gotten out of control to where it is a rich mans hobby now. It is not the way it used to be rules have changed the american public has its views city slickers that see a horsepull are the same ones that are chanting in the stands for your horses to "GO GO GO GO GO GO" and yor horse hears that then they stop cause they think its "Whoa Whoa Whoa". An when you try to correct them for it you get BOO'd for it, an there the same ones that will turn you in to the SPCA then your in trouble for correcting them. So thats why I classify it as a RICH MAN HOBBY , in this modern Day and Society because that is what we made it. Not for the sport like we used to yes I have pulled horses since I was 12yr old an luckily i had a good teacher my father to help me out and alot of other pullers that were up and coming far more advanced then i was but they did take some time to help when I needed it and I thank them for it to. but today you can go buy a pair of All Ready Made pullin horses for 30 grand and you could win all season. But those horses can not take that pulling day in and day out. Now when next year comes along you may be at the bottom and have to go buy another pair. I have had alot of horses that cost 2 grand or less and beaten alot of those multi dollar horses. Not alot because I was not in it to go all over the place I did it because I liked to do it for the Sport and the fun of it and to keep the tradition going of working with horses. You want to stop alot of the high dollar horses to show up to a pull ok Have a farm class they can either be shod or barefoot. NH has a couple places like that look it up i did. Sure there aint nothin like a crowd to go nutts when you cross the last load or give you a round of applause for withdrawing cause you know your horses and what there limitations are that is a true horseman even if you took last place. Yes we all have been there we have experienced everything. You want to stop alot of the Multi Dollar Horses from coming to a pull so it can give a little guy some type of chance to have some fun have it where if those horses have pulled more than ten times in a year then they can't pull or if that horse or horses have pulled in years previous then they cant pull there. That would stop alot of the infiltration of being bullied around by the big dollar horses. i know it doesn't seem fair in some folks eyes but its the truth only today its money that talks and the rest walks. Its not a bit of jealousy or being greedy its about Tradition and keeping it alive and thriving with our generations to come. I also feel the Eatern Draft Horse Association has veered away from where and how they started. The Rules and amendments NEVER USED to be they way they are now. We need to get back to our roots in how all this started because if it wasn't for us farmers and loggers this sport would have not even gotten started. When the pulls first evolved they would compete at a set location and see who's horses could out pull each others and the Winner would get a couple sacks of grain with 5 bucks back in the turn of the century(1900's). Sure Pulling had taken a huge turn in the 80's and then the 90's now in this current Milenium it has a different appeal to it today.

Concerning the $ pullers, we've got a $700 and $1500 horse that are now beating some of the top Maryland and Virginia horse pullers. We love it when they get beat and go out and buy more big $ horses. It's putting money into the economy. LoL......

On Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 09:13 PM MSVAMD wrote:
Concerning the $ pullers, we've got a $700 and $1500 horse that are now beating some of the top Maryland and Virginia horse pullers. We love it when they get beat and go out and buy more big $ horses. It's putting money into the economy. LoL......

Well let me ask you MSVAMD what are ya feedin them things besides grain and hay and about an hr of work? cause I know that the air is a little thinner down there that makes the blood go faster..LOL