It’s not often that contractors and farmers get to take their machinery off-farm

The tractor pull at the Mayfield A & P show is a rare chance for operators to play with their toys, and test their limits.

Chairman of Tractor Pull New Zealand Vaughan Coy loves coming south to host the event.

“It’s a big trek for everyone, but they all love the Mayfield show.”

He describes tractor pulls as “boy-racer rural style.

“It’s about having a bit of fun, learning to get the best of your tractor.”

The concept of the tractor pull predates the motor - it started with horses, Coy said.

“They’d lay a barn door down, hook it up to the horse, and as it walked past people would step on the door.

“The horse that could pull the most people the farthest was the winner.”

Fast forward a few years, and while horsepower has replaced horses, the proud farmer still claims his machinery is the best.

“Now we have a much more technical way to work that out.”

Tractors get hooked up to a sled, weighed down by another tractor, usually, and attempt to drag it as far as they can.

The sled they use is computer controlled, and the only one of its kind in the world.

“I developed the sled myself, that’s how we know.”

While it’s a fun exercise, Coy said it doubled as a chance for contractors to get to know their gear better.

“We had a guy in Southland many years ago, a contractor who paid for his team to join the competition.

“He was wrapped with how much his guys learned.”

And on top of that, it’s a social exercise.

“Contracting is a lonely game; you’re locked away in your cab for many, many hours.

“At the tractor pull, we all tell the same lies to each other, and brag about our tractors together.”

Keen players can enter the pull on the day - tractors are costly and work comes first.

“If we want to go play for a day, it might not [do any] work.

“If it rains for three or four days beforehand, and it’s fine on the day, guess what? You’re not going to the tractor pull.”

The morning is reserved for practice time and set up, with the competition kicking off officially in the afternoon.

There’s a beer tent and seating alongside the pulling track, so everyone can sit and watch the fun.

“It provide a good days’ fun for everyone.”

By Anisha Satya