Florida pulls
    Why are the Florida pulls not on the schedule page?

On Friday, February 4, 2011 at 12:49 PM uno wrote:
UNO

The Florida group chooses not to support this site.

Despite the Florida group choosing not to support this site, Bill put his customers ahead of the dispute. I, for one, am very thankful to him for his loyalty to us in posting the Florida results. Bill Fisher

as always you think of the fans bill thanks

did u see the results on the oter site, i almost won and wasnt even there!!!!!

I hope the Tampa pull tomorrow adds some excitement to the Florida schedule. Maybe some new teams will show up? Otherwise, I think they are going to have to start giving us spectators free coffee to keep us awake!

Not much suspense is there? Tampa the same as all the rest. Same winner every time.

Another day of excitement! Thank God we have had good weather. We are out of here headed north.

I liken the Florida pulls the past few years to summer time TV. It's all reruns. Even if its your favorite show its difficult to show interest because you know how it is gonna end. So you grab the remote and flip the channel looking for something more exciting to watch. I guess that is one advantage the Florida pulls have over summer TV. They don't have to compete with any other shows.

I think a sled would make it way more interesting

Well it couldn't hurt. I really doubt that most of the spectators that were not regular pulling fans had a clue what was going on with the truck. With a sled, they would be able to tell what was going on. Watching that truck and hearing it grind was like watching the earth move. It was interesting to listen to the spectators comments. It was obvious who was there for the first time and it sure didn't sound like they were interested enough to come to another pull. It is hard enough on the die hard pulling fans to watch that truck over and over. Imagine what a newbie would think? I would be interested to hear what other people that were there thought? We have a nice mix of pulls in our area.

Read all these messages and that will answer your question at the top of the page

What's that mean ???

I read all the messages and the question at the top of the page, but I am not sure that I get it. So, SDHA didn't pay their dues, but that connects with their pulls being boring?

Not sure what your saying either ....I just think the fans would like to see the blocks on a sled ....I also think a sled would attract a variety of different people from several states thus making a more competitive pull

Yes, in my opinion, the SDHA should contribute to Bill"s website, just as people pay them for being members. You do not need a membership to attend pulls, it is a courtious thing.But the pulls are a class act, thanks to the directors and members.
The announcer does a wonderful job of explaining how the truck works. If anyone was down here years ago, the sled did not work in this Fl soil. A lot of the spectators that attend the pulls in FL are from northern states that use the truck.
They are getting a large crowds at the pulls because
because people just want to watch a horse pull. People can go back home and watch a pull of their choice by patronizing their local fairs. People say the pulls are boring with the same winners all the time, there is one answer to that, come up with some better horses.

The soil sounds like a good reason to pull on a truck BUT i know different. Two years ago my wife ask Mr Yoder about about pulling on the sled.He told her that he didnt have help loading and unloading the sled.He was very nice about it.Guess its his show and he can run it how he choses.Its more of an invitational anyway

I admit that I have not been down to Florida for several years but one thing is obvious. They don't get the variety of horses they used to. When I was there they had a bunch of horses from Mississippi and Kentucky and some from Indiana and Michigan. In the last few years when I look at the Florida results it almost does look like an invitational. Same people every year. They really need to stir things up. A boat pull once or twice would be a good idea. How bout a 5 minute pull to change things up? We all know that Mr. Hatfield is the man and that Mr. Yoder has the top horses and they are rarely beat in a 27 1/2 foot pull. Wouldn't it be interesting to see if they would dominate in a 5 minute pull? They claim they draw huge crowds to the Florida pulls so maybe those making the decisions are content with the way things are but from someone who relies on the results found on this site it is my opinion that they should look to attract some different faces and offering some different pulls might be a method to do such.

Well Dan and John I totally agree with both of you ...I totally understand both of your posts .....some of the others don't make sense

I love reading the different opinions and I respect each individual who took the time to post. I think that all concerned are trying to help and are just interested in the promotion of horsepulling. But, let's get serious, we don't all have the same budgets and we just have to do the best that we can with what we have. I think most pullers know when they leave the barn they are not going to win, but they would like to have a little hope. You may have hope of being competitive in your area, but if you go to Florida to pull, it is just to take a vacation. I am sure that the Florida pulls are a class act, but that doesn't make them any more suspenseful.

It is true that a lot of the pull sites are not favorable for a sled. But, there are a couple of places that a sled would work. No one is asking for all sled pulls, just a little variety. I will say that Carlena Davis is a wonderful announcer and she is the best that I have ever heard as far as educating the crowd. She has certainly classed up the pulls!

Boring, boring, boring. But we keep going hoping that someone different will show up and topple the dictator!

It is too bad that they don't support this site. They announce at every pull to look here for the results. I'm sure that for the price of one of the trophies they could pay the yearly dues. Give it up Yoder!

Just heard someone got caught using the "d" word at one of the FL pulls. Do they test at every pull? Top 3 or what?

I am sure that one reason this site is mentioned at every pull is that Carlena Davis is announcing. She is a very good woman that stays out of the politics of a situation. Besides, if you want to accurately see the results you better look here. The best I can tell, it is not the membership of the SDHA that decided not to support this site. It is just the directors. One of them didn't even know the difference between this site and one of the others, so he couldn't possibly have understood to vote not to support this one. I think the membership are good people and they just shake their heads when this topic is brought up. It looks to me like it would be easier to pay the dues than to continue to have people discussing it and upset about it. It just reflects small mindedness on the part of the directors. The membership does not get to vote on this topic.

The Florida Pulls are great for us thaT are here. It is about the pulling, because we all love horsepulling, but it is a social thing, where everyone has a common interest. The only other place you can get into for the price is a movie and you cannot talk there. Every aspect of life has differences but lets just enjoy the little fun we can have before it is too late.

I've been reading these posts for some time and have decided it's time to have my say. If I understand things correctly the Florida group voted not to support this site over differences that have to do with posts found on this message board. I like a lot of people spend too much time on the Internet. I get my sports, politics, entertainment and horsepulling news among other things from the Internet. In my daily travels around the net I run into countless numbers of message boards/blogs found on websites. No matter what the subject matter that's being addressed its 95% personal opinion that you find left on the boards. The other 5% are what I would label as idiots being idiots. When you're dealing with personal opinions it's human nature to feel good when people express an approval of your actions or comments and to feel bad when they express disapproval over the same. But even though you may feel bad about posts to message boards that express disapproval I feel it is short minded to eliminate the sounding board for those who feel the desire to post. Providing a forum for people to talk about anything should be looked at as a positive thing. It's when they stop talking that you should be concerned. I support the Florida board of directors right to choose not to support this site but I don't support their reasoning. Bill does his best to keep the boards free of harmful posts. It isn't an easy job. I challenge you to go to any message boards/blog and tell me you didn't find questionable posts. I also think it's important to keep in mind the difference between ones right to express a personal opinion and a post that can be labeled as potentially harmful to the sport. I think the promotion of horsepulling that is provided by this site is vital to the future of the sport and that includes the message boards. As I previously mentioned I support the Florida board of directors or anyone elses right to choose not to support the site but I also support Bill's right to include the message boards as part of his site and support the right of the subscribers to express their opinions.

I guess I'm on a roll now. One more thought. I would challenge anyone to provide me with a source that does a better and more complete job of promoting horsepulling then this website does. When I think of what can be found on this site I'm confident that no one will be able to provide that alternative source. Think about what this site has to offer. The massive amount of schedule information and results along with pictures, information about the individual clubs, information about how to attain videos from the pulls, profiles, history and media material. It is extremely impressive and when I think about the time and effort invested to accumulate and maintain all this information over the last 8-9 years I wonder how he does it. It's hard for me to express my gratitude for Bill's effort. Because the site does such a magnificent job of promoting horsepulling I can't imagine why anyone whether it be a participant, a spectator, a club or those who run pulls wouldn't be apreciative and support this website. If your passion is horsepulling and you'd like to see it flourish in the future I think it would be in your best interest to recognize the quality and effectiveness of this website and do what you can to support it. So I'm gonna sit back now and wait for suggestions on a more effective source for promoting horsepulling.

Arthur, I'm in agreement with everything you said. I guess I need to make this observation because no one else has. Might I point out that Mr. Torrey & Mr. Yoder are on the same team or at least should be. They're both interested in promoting horsepulling and they both work hard to do so. Can I also point out that by working together you can achieve so much more then apart. So why not shake hands and get on with it?

Plain and simple its really hard to beat the Yankee's but we still play the game ....when there is no salary cap it makes the smaller markets work harder and play smarter .....Carl I really like your post but when it comes to comparing what Bill and Terry have done to promote horsepulling that's where I differ in opinion ....Bill makes it easy for us to connect with pulling all across the US and Canada ....he and his site are wonderful for everyone .....Terry has bought and built the best pulling program in the world ....not really sure in anyway he has helped promote horsepulling in any fascist .....Before someone says the Florida pulls ....I say its a reunion of millionaires .....and we are wasting our time wondering why ....trust me the gap is closing

You know, we were talking today and remember how many teams that used to go to Florida? The numbers are dwindling every year. Where are the Powells this year? There used to be other Kentucky teams that would go down for a few pulls every year. I don't care what anyone says, there is something not right down there. The pull situation may be right for the cliques but it is not a welcoming situation for the average puller. I am glad that they say that they are having large crowds. There must be lots of snowbirds down there with nothing better to do!

People get older, sickley, or for other reasons quit coming to FL. The younger generation have real jobs and cannot afford to come for a month of pulling. They take advantage of the local pulls at home instead. This is just a month of horse pulls for the people with interest in horsepulling can go to. It is not all millionaires,there are alot of ordinary guys in the ring, enjoying their selves. Fl is just lucky enough to have a couple of families who love pulling supporting the sport here.. Without them I am afried the sport would go downhill fast. Maybe they do not always make the best decisions but it is a good time for people that can attend. It is not cheap to bring horses to FL. The living expenses, barns, etc are what keep the little guy away. The ones that do have living arangements here, certainly invite the small guys here with open arms and try to acccomidate them with a place to stay. Why are people so against the Fl Pulls. If you do not like them do not attend, simple as that. The rest of us are so bored that we go and have a great time.

I agree with Florida Fan. There are a lot of reasons some people don't or cant't come to Fl to pull. The people that go seem to enjoy their stay and I know that those full timers do everything they can to make your stay fun. It's a good break from the winter weather just to check in on the results here. I for one am glad they have the pulls in Florida and I am glad that the people who help put them on are envolved in horsepulling instead of some other sport. All of those people bring a lot to this sport. As for the same people winning most of the time, so what, I wise man told me many years ago that " It is better to be a dog amongst kings than a king amongst dogs".

Florida Fan, I just spent the last hour studying the results for the past few years, which luckily I am able to do on this website. I was so wrong. The numbers haven't been dwindling. They have been fairly stable for the past several years. I guess the best year that is recorded on this site is 2004. The numbers were a little higher then. I am glad that you have a good time a the pulls and I am happy that the other people that are able to participate are also enjoying themselves. And yes, you are right the working class cannot afford to go to Florida. And yes, you are right that there are a lot of normal people in the ring. And I think it is commendable the effort and time that the pulling families you were talking about devote to continuing the tradition down there. I guess I was just delusional and was thinking of the days before the Yoder dynasty when there were different winners at least part of the time. If you study the results you will see that back several years ago that the "working" pullers would occasionally go down for a seven or ten day stretch and pull at three or four pulls before having to return home. I have heard pullers talk about getting together between the pulls and helping each other and having access to the truck to practice. They say that that is a much more controlled situation now and not as many people get to practice. I don't know. I did not get to go this year. I just hear what the pullers that used to go say about the pulls and what they say now. I am sure the pulls are an asset to the Florida association. I guess there is always just this dream in the back of the "working" pullers mind where they think there is going to be a level playing field at least occasionally, but as Shane L. says "we all know about the Yankees". And as you pointed out, if we want a level playing field we should just stick to our little local pulls where we might be able to pull on a sled or truck and might get to sneak in a win. What happens to the Kentucky boys? I guess they need to go out of state to have a level playing field or they can historically research this site and see the Bluegrass pulls that Hatfield didn't choose to participate in and go to those pulls. Looks like Humphrey & Heightchew and the Jones teams had pretty good success last year. Just rambling now. Just wanted to let you know you were right.

Ok I understand some of the points some of you all have .....but some here are twisting the issue on this subject ...first of all Bill is a wonderful man that is an asset to horsepullers all over the country ....his website is as good as it gets anyone or any association that boycotts him probably has issues internally.....glad Bill does run Facebook because he might be held responsible for some of our dumb comments on there also .....and when I say our I'm talking about all of us ...anyone that posts anything could offend somebody somewhere ......if you think those people that have money and not been in horsepulling very long is keeping horse pulling going .....WELL I PERSONALLY THINK YOUR LOST ....I know families with four generations of pullers ....in MY OPINION that's what's keeping the sport going ...I by no means would ever take anything away from the top horses or top drivers of the present time ...we all know who this best is but let's face it the southern heads have a problem with free speech ....all I say is we cater to the money by pulling their style ...a sled pull means the gap is closed and more teams and better teams show up and happier fans ....I know this because I am one of these fans sitting and watching.....all I want to see is it opened up and more teams there ....My question to Florida Fan is how many of those ordinary people as you call them do you see in the ring ?? Ordinary that's an interesting word you chose

Well, I guess the Florida pulls are history. And Jordan I am proud of your for reviewing the results on this site, but if you study further, you will find that even though the numbers might be approximately the same at many of the past years pulls, there was a much greater variety of pullers. It might be the cost of fuel, the state of the economy but whatever it is there is not the variety of pullers that there used to be. A lot of the people pulling are pulling more than one team. I too am glad that everyone had such a lovely time, but it is still boring. I guess if you have nothing else to do it would be okay. What if one driver or owner won every Nascar race? How long do you think the ratings would stay up?

For anyone that watched the Academy Awards, Sandra Bullock just asked nominee Jeff Bridges if since he won the award last year, if maybe he should give someone else a chance? What a thought?

has it ever occurred to you people that any-one that spends the money and time with their teams are in it to win-plain and simple-it doesn,t matter who it is yoder-durgin or anyone that travels those miles to get there.its a competitive game get with it. and i am not a fan of yoder.but thats life.maybe horsepulling should have divisions when you win a certain amount of pulls in a certain class you step up and become a big boy.it would spike some interest. i don,t see any benifit in bashing the top winner,spend all this energy try to come up with a solution.

plain and simple chris and terry are great at what they do . period ! so others have to do their homework to compete !!! in the long run it just makes us all better . i like to compete against the best , and sometimes but not very often i win one .

On Monday, February 28, 2011 at 01:22 PM david wrote:
plain and simple chris and terry are great at what they do . period ! so others have to do their homework to compete !!! in the long run it just makes us all better . i like to compete against the best , and sometimes but not very often i win one .

Well said David they have done alot for the sport Chris/Terry seem to be good people.

I personally think Bill is a wonderful man...no one or no association has done as much to promote horsepulling as Bill has ....and no one person or association will ruin what he offers to us ....if some one has a problem with him they need to man up and stop crying and start a website of their own ...you think beating the top Fl pullers is impossible well try topping Bill it WON'T HAPPEN .....sure hope the haters don't check results on this site

SHane L. you are so right Bill is the best, not only because of this site but for his knowledge of horsepulling and helpfullness when ever needed.

Thanks Fl fan ...your so right

Yes, Bill does a great job and is very dedicated to his Website,if you know him personnally he is a perfectionist in anything he does,He has a great concern for the future of horsepulling for a non ownwer of horses he has done a lot to promote horse pulling, BUT I think some credit has to go to his wife also,she does help him,Maybe thats why they have a good marriage, Bills occupied with his site and they don,t have time to argue.so that is Bills reward for all hIs hard work, due to all the hours he puts into it, he isn,t making any money.

On Wednesday, March 2, 2011 at 09:29 PM SHANE L. wrote:
Thanks Fl fan ...your so right

Ray
Now that the Florida pulls are over, I would like to thank Jean Clegg for her excellent photographs which put us at each one of the pulls; to whoever was responsible for getting accurate results to Bill; and of course, to Bill for putting it all together. For accuracy, reliability, responsibility and integrity, Horsepullresults.com has no equal. I'm proud to be a sponsor, and encourage others to support the site by becoming members or sponsors.

Thanks for the reminder Ray. I'd like to thank Jean Clegg & Bill Sherwin for sending me the photos. They always do a nice job with the Florida pulls and Bill also sends many photos throughout the season from some of the pulls here in New England. Their efforts are greatly appreciated. Also a big thank you to Annabelle Smith for sending the Florida results. Without her help it wouldn't be possible for me to post the Florida results. Please check out the list of videos she has available on our video page.

We are one of those little people everyone keeps talking about that can't go to FL. We have been there for nine years. We know going down that Terry and Glen has great horses. The whole Yoder Family has been great to us, without them we would not be able to make FL possible. We have the time of our lives when we are there. We know we are up against the best and not just Terry Yoders. We know this going in, as they say the best of the best is there and we go to win, doesn't everyone? I know personally we would't want it any other way. I just wanted to say thanks to Terry and Glen for everything, and your family, it was the best time. I know I will never forget it and we will be back. SEE YA NEXT YEAR

On Thursday, February 24, 2011 at 09:27 PM SHANE L. wrote:
Plain and simple its really hard to beat the Yankee's but we still play the game ....when there is no salary cap it makes the smaller markets work harder and play smarter .....Carl I really like your post but when it comes to comparing what Bill and Terry have done to promote horsepulling that's where I differ in opinion ....Bill makes it easy for us to connect with pulling all across the US and Canada ....he and his site are wonderful for everyone .....Terry has bought and built the best pulling program in the world ....not really sure in anyway he has helped promote horsepulling in any fascist .....Before someone says the Florida pulls ....I say its a reunion of millionaires .....and we are wasting our time wondering why ....trust me the gap is closing

New puller here: I would like to say that I look forward to the day I can go to Fla. and pull horses with the best win or lose it will be great to learn from watching Mr.Yoder and Mr.Hatfield pull there horses never know may beat them. I have heard nothing but good things about them and look forward to meeting them some day and pulling horses with them.

ok Shane L now i know what your statement TRUST ME THE GAP IS CLOSING means. RON OAKLEAF IS CLOSING THE GAP

I will have to say this Mr Torrey you have dedicated ALOT of time to this site to actually expand capabilities not only on the east coast but to get more connections across the united states. An to make this possible for those of us who can not be here to actually see a pull. I thank You Mr Torrey it does make a difference for folks. I feel that we are subscribers to the site to keep it going. That want to continue to keep Horse drawing going to embrace it, here, now and in the future along with the tradition of it.

I have a few thoughts about what has been said about the Florida pulls..Any one that would like to go can. We have been asked to pull before, but we have no way of keeping our horses worked through the winter,so we go for the fun of it. The people are wonderful, It's like old home day. The pulling is the best of the best and The pulls are run fairly..It take alot of time and effort to put on a pull not to mention alot of money..Maybe if the unhappy people got together and tryd to put on a pull of their own, you may be less likely to put someone else down who is keeping Hoss pulling going to begin with..No matter where you go and what sport you get into you always have to compete against someone that has more money than you do..The difference is I haven't heard any one say how well Terry treats everyone who goes down their either to pull or just watch. I haven't seen anyone else treat people as well as terry does..People really need to be happy we still have pulling going on and stop complaining and putting people down..We will keep supporting Hoss pulling in Florida and in our own state with positive comments and thoughts..

Ed did not write this his wife did after seeing that the trophies were gone from Terry barn.

On Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at 08:52 PM Ed wrote:
I have a few thoughts about what has been said about the Florida pulls..Any one that would like to go can. We have been asked to pull before, but we have no way of keeping our horses worked through the winter,so we go for the fun of it. The people are wonderful, It's like old home day. The pulling is the best of the best and The pulls are run fairly..It take alot of time and effort to put on a pull not to mention alot of money..Maybe if the unhappy people got together and tryd to put on a pull of their own, you may be less likely to put someone else down who is keeping Hoss pulling going to begin with..No matter where you go and what sport you get into you always have to compete against someone that has more money than you do..The difference is I haven't heard any one say how well Terry treats everyone who goes down their either to pull or just watch. I haven't seen anyone else treat people as well as terry does..People really need to be happy we still have pulling going on and stop complaining and putting people down..We will keep supporting Hoss pulling in Florida and in our own state with positive comments and thoughts..