Horse Pulling Champions crowned in Kentucky

The Bluegrass Horse Pulling Association hosted the 33rd annual Glen Russelburg Memorial horse pull in Bowling Green, Ky., on Saturday, June 1, 2024.

The Bluegrass Horse Pulling Association hosted the 33rd annual Glen Russelburg Memorial horse pull in Bowling Green, KY this past Saturday. 20 teams of the best horses & drivers from five states gathered at the WKU L.D. Brown Ag Expo find out who could, in a nutshell, pull the most weight the furthest.

Over the last several decades, this particular event has come to be known as one of the big ones in the Real McCoy horse-pulling world. Chris Hatfield, V.P. of the Bluegrass Horse Pulling Association noted, “There are certain pulls around the United States that you want to go to and try to win, and this is one of them.”

The quality of competition is through the roof, every year since 1991. Simply being in the arena with that callibar of a team (equines & humans) is something to be respected. President of the Bluegrass Horse Pulling Association David Roof said this is his favorite event, and explains how the pull came to be named after Glen Russelburg in this post on Facebook.

The format has been different over the years. Having once featured mule and pony pulls. This year, it was horses only. The cream of the crop. Teams were weighed before the event, determining the 10 lightest teams and the 10 heaviest teams of the 20 in attendance. They were spilt into two weight classes based on those weigh ins: Lightweight and Overweight

The Burton Brothers of Columbia, KY won the Heavy Overweight class with Bill and Shine pulling 12,250 pounds 16’ 4’.

In the Lightweight class, Yoder and Hatfield guided Karl & Todd to victory pulling 11,450 pounds, 23’ 11’.

Yoder-&-Hatfield-2_1920x1080.jpg

Photo by Taylor Gross

Photo by Taylor Gross

The youngest competitor at the pull was 15 year old Ethan Burton.

Ethan-Burton_1920x1080.jpg

Photo by Taylor Gross

Photo by Taylor Gross

A full list of results can be seen below. For more information on the Bluegrass Horsepulling association, visit their facebook page.

Glen Russelburg Memorial Pull

Saturday June 1, 2024 Bowling Green, KY

Light Overweight Results

PlaceEntryDriverAddressHorses WeightHorses NamesWeight & Distance pulled
1Yoder & HatfieldChris HatfieldLake Panasoffkee, FL Cromwell, KY3650Karl Todd11, 450 - 23' 11"
2Lester SpechtLester SpechtFriedens, PA3650Abe Daryl11,450 - 22' 3"
3Brian PatchinBrian PatchinNewton Falls, OH3700Buzz Woody11,500 - 21' 11"
4Trent & SonsDee TrentBloomfield, KY3700Frank Frank11,500 - 12' 7"
5Roof BrothersDavid RoofLeitchfield, KY3650King Todd11,450 - 12' 5"
6Mark MintonMark MintonKittanning, PA3650Andy Ben11,450 - 3' 9"
7Roof BrothersDavid RoofLeitchfield, KY3650Moe Rocket11,450 - 3' 5"
8Scott MacleanScott MacleanLeoma, TN3750Dean Prince10,450 - 26' 9"
9Jones Powell & RandWill JonesVersailles, KY3750Dick Prince10,450 - 25' 4"
10Ethan BurtonEthan BurtonColumbia, KY3750Russ Sonny9,350 - 5' 5"

Heavy Overweight Results

PlaceEntryDriverAddressHorses WeightHorses NamesWeight & Distance pulled
1Burton BrothersLarry BurtonColumbia, KY3750Bill Shine12,250 - 16' 4"
2Russelburg BrothersAaron RusselburgHawesville, KY4650Mike JD13,150 - 8' 6"
3Phillip BurtonPhillip BurtonColumbia, KY4950Dan Red13,450 - 3' 3"
4Yoder & HatfieldChris HatfieldLake Panasoffkee, FL Cromwell, KY5100Jay Rowdy12,850 - 24' 10"
5Altman & SlusherMeredith AltmanPeru, IN4850Davey Denver12,600 - 9' 5"
6Casey HarrimanCasey HarrimanMuncy Valley, PA4750Buck Mike12,500 - 7' 7"
7Trent & SonsBear TrentBloomfield, KY3850Pete Rex11,600 - 6' 4"
8Jim PirasJim PirasChardon, OH4000Al Doc11,750 - 2' 3"
9Kierstead & SmithPeter KiersteadSavannah, TN3900Smoothie Sonny10,600 - 17' 8"
10Doug ClemonsRyan ClemonsGreenville, OH4900Bill Buster11,600 - 8' 1"

Story courtesy of Taylor Gross

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