Ever since I was a little girl, I've been enthralled by the big draft horses.  I can remember sitting by Dad at this very horse pull 50 years or so ago, and just loving being at his side and watching the brute power of these amazing animals.

If you've never been to a small-town fair horse pull, you must go sometime!

Here's how it works:

Cement blocks are loaded onto the sled or "boat," starting at around 5000 lbs. Each team gets three chances to pull it the required 27' 6". After each round, more blocks are added and the weight of the load continues to increase by 1000-1500 pounds each round, causing teams to drop out one at a time if they can't pull the distance. At this year's pull, 10,000 pounds was the final weight that determined the winner.

Massive, powerful animals...but most are very docile and gentle....

The horses know that as soon as they hear the "clink" of the metal hitch,...

...it's time to take off!

Sometimes they get a little anxious and take off too early...and it takes 4 strong men to rein them in to try again. I'm betting these men were sore the next morning....

My cousin Jim helps out with the pull...here he is driving the skid steer...

...and manning the truck with the cement blocks.

Perfectly in step!

Between pulls, there's plenty of people-watching enjoyment...these sweet, innocent Amish girls were definitely enjoying the fair!

Um..yeah...other extreme.....

I spotted this darling little toddler entertaining the crowd in front of us...hey, I KNOW her!!!

Grace is the 15-month-old granddaughter of my dear friend Brenda.  Isn't she a cutie?!

Pulling is hot, sweaty work...even for these horses!

Getting a pep talk from the coach...

Oftentimes, things don't go as planned.  Luckily, after losing his footing, this horse got right back up and seemed to be okay.

Look at the massive chest on this horse!  My personal favorite, this team was the biggest, weighing in at 5300 lbs.,...

...and ended up finishing second.  They just couldn't quite pull the 10,000 lbs. far enough.

The winning team with its winning pull!

A wonderful evening, bringing back a flood of great memories, enjoying the pure brute strength of...

...mega-horsepower.