Most of the children who entered the Kiddie Pedal tractor pull at the 36th Annual Rotaryfest in Clifford pulled a complete pull of 30 feet.
The children were weighed and entered into three categories, which determined the model of tractor they would drive: up to 50 pounds – John Deere; 51 to 75 pounds – Massey Ferguson; 76 to 100 pounds – International.
The tractors were used courtesy of Roy Charters, of Harriston.
Alexis Harkness congratulated each child and handed them a ribbon for participating. The top three pullers in each category were to receive a coupon for an ice-cream cone from the vendor inside the arena, but due to the numbers competing, each participant received a treat.
On Saturday, Nathan Stroeder, Jared Illerbrun, and Spencer Harkness were the first three to pull the sled a full thirty feet. Mike Rock added more weights each time until the fifth attempt when Spencer strained for a 27-foot pull and Jared 25.
James Tree, Jorja Harkness, Peyton Hancock, Beth Hancock, Sam Ireland, Justin Noakes, Aspen Hall, Tyler Martin, Jenna Rowley, Austin Landry, Zachary Irvin, Mark Mitchell, Gwen Main, and Nicholas Main also found the tractor and sled to be a challenging and rewarding sport.
On Sunday, Isaiah Koebel, Isaac Koebel, Iryn Koebel, and Kirstoen Hummel each had a chance for a full pull in the up to 50 pound category.
Tyson Hummel and Cody Turner pulled in the next category. Ashton Clements and Brad Reaman were going for glory five times with full pulls. On the sixth attempt, they both pulled 26 feet.
The final pull saw Clements pull another 26 feet with Reaman going three feet farther for 29.
Spectators and family found it exciting to watch the children pull with all their might.
Later on each day, children aged 5 to 10 were invited to find 50 real loonies buried in a stretch of sand that measured 15-by 50-feet.
Jim Harkness initiated the search in the Loonie Scramble. Sloan Hall was the first to pull a loonie out of the sand and report it to Alexis Harkness who recorded the countdown.
Some of the children used their sandals for digging.
Some dug doggie style spraying sand in every direction. Some quietly sat in the sand digging in the same spot. Some danced and dug their toes into the sand, anything to create movement to disturb the sand and uncover the remaining loonies that were determined to stay hidden.
After quite a few minutes, it looked like there was a need for more than encouragement from the parents who added their own digging style to the mix.
After an hour of digging, it was time to shut down the sand lot. Mike Rock helped rake and push the sand, but five loonies failed to be found.
Perhaps, they will wind up in someone’s sand box.
The children kept their findings.
