A demonstration of what’s meant by “horsepower” is one of the big draws of Saturday and Sunday’s Timmins Fall Fair at the Mountjoy Arena.
The heavy horse pull pits teams of two Clydesdales against each other. They can weigh up to a ton each.
Teams come from across Northern Ontario and Northwestern Quebec. Porcupine District Agricultural Society president Rock Whissell says they have to pull increasingly heavy loads a distance of 20 feet.
“There’s two categories. There’s the heavy horses and then there’s the medium-sized horses,” he outlines. “Everybody pulls against each other and then the winners of the heavy horses or the medium-sized horses have prizes.”
Whissell says the horses train year-round much like human athletes do.
“We normally have at least six teams. They could go up to 13 teams, depending on the schedule and how everybody’s horses are feeling. We are one of the last events of the summer, so this is also one of their last competitions.”
Moose FM is sponsoring the heavy horse pull at the Fall Fair.