Tractor-pull participants love the sport and the machines

Debbie Riehn of Jackson took first place in the stock antique plow class category Saturday at the SEMO District Fair. She pulled the weighted sled 161.51 feet in a 1947 Farmall M tractor that belongs to her son, Butch Riehn.

"She beat me on my own tractor," he said.

It was only the second time she'd driven his tractor, and Debbie said it was Butch's coaching that helped her win. "I was so nervous I couldn't hear how the engine was pulling down," she said.

Tractor pulling may not have been Debbie's hobby, but it is now following her win. "The next tractor pull is in Altenburg," later this month, she said.

The appeal of antique tractor pulling, which is not an action-packed sport, is in the tractor and its history, the driver's capabilities and how close the competition is. For most drivers and tractor owners it's just a friendly competition.

Traditionalists v. modders

Some competitors invest a lot of money in modifications that will increase pulling power. Others compete with stock tractors.

Tom Hale of Jackson has a 34 horsepower 1939 Farmall M stock tractor. He paid the sponsor, Egypt Mills Antique Tractor Club, for two hookups to the sled, allowing him to compete in the 6,000- and 6,500-pound classes.

Hale's tractor has no modifications. He hasn't spent a lot of money on it and pulls just for fun. Hale has pulled since the 1980s and has been a member of the tractor club in the past, but since he's been working nights, he hasn't had time for meetings. "I took last night off to do this," he said.

David Steinnerd of Jackson has competed for six years and participates in 15 to 20 tractor pulls a year. He travels to Mississippi, Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee for shows. He paid for hookups in the 4,000- and 4,500-pound classes.

The tractor he competed with, a 1944 Farmall H, has a souped-up engine with horse power he did not want to disclose. He believes Farmalls are the best-made tractors by far. "There's no green paint at my place," he said, referring to John Deere.

He restores tractors to pull and show at parades and enjoys finding out about the machines' histories. Maintaining a tractor's integrity for posterity is another reason he does it. Last year he bought a tractor from a neighbor and restored it. It belonged to her husband, who had it since boyhood. "Family members come over and take a ride on it once in a while," he said.

Father/son bonding

Steinnerd watched the tractor pull sitting on a "Red Seal" he believes was made in 1938, according to casting numbers. It belonged to the Cape Girardeau School District and was used for mowing. The tractor is noted for its speed, not its pulling power. "It can go up to 50 miles per hour," he said.

The whole business of restoring tractors came about when Steinnerd's father asked him to restore a tractor of his. Father and son usually attend the pulls together as a bonding experience, but Steinnerd's father couldn't attend Saturday.

Dave Powers pushed his 18-horsepower 1939 Allis-Chalmers tractor to its maximum, riding on two back wheels and one front. A club member for 23 years, Powers works as an electrical contractor but has helped on farms some. He believes the older tractors were made better.

Powers signed up for three pulls and also planned on competing with a 1935 model U Allis-Chalmers that took three years to get ready. It has 60-horsepower and was entered in the 4,500- and 5,000-pound classes. He said the tractor is rare. "They didn't make that many of them."

The tractor was in bad shape when he bought it for $600. It's worth a lot more now but Powers was not willing to say how much.

cpagano@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133

Watch a video of the tractor pull

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