LEXINGTON — Russ Orr stood at the finish line, hunched over, eyes locked on his friend.
“Look at me. You’ve got it, dog,” the 7-year-old cheered. “Pull! Pull! C’mon, big dog!”
Five-year-old Rowan Curtis pedaled with all his might, steadily hauling towards the finish line.
After he crossed, Curtis hopped off the miniature tractor. The two boys hugged. Curtis was the winner — the top of his class in the kiddie tractor-pull contest.
Saturday’s tractor pull at the Lexington Blueberry Festival attracted 17 competitors between the ages of 4 and 11. During the event, kids cycled on a small tractor equipped with bicycle pedals, pulling a weighted trailer behind them.
Competitors were divided into classes by age and occasionally had to compete in tie-breaker rounds, where additional weight was added to the back of the trailer.
Gary Daiber of Buckeye Pedal Pullers emceed the contest.
“We go around the fairs and festivals and tractor shows, pedal-tractor pulling,” Daiber said. “Then we invite kids at local pulls to a state championship pull,” Daiber said.
“If they win at the state championship pull, they’re invited to go out to national championship pulling out in Mitchell, South Dakota.”
Orr and Curtis will both have the chance to compete in the next state-level competition.
During his final tie-breaker round, Orr pedaled with a fury. He later said his legs and the sight of Curtis at the finish line kept him going.
“I feel good,” he said moments after the win. “My best friend was there supporting me and I just had to pull it off.”
The full winner list included:
- Lilee McCune, age 4
- Rowan Curtis, age 5
- Byron Ferrera, age 6
- Russ Orr, age 7
- Shelbi Nelson, age 8
- Bryce Kilgore, age 9
- Bradley Davis, age 10
- Oren Delp, age 11
