Norwood Fair

I hoped to go to the Heavy Horse Draw at the Norwood Fair, but that was not in the cards for us today. Light Horse Draw it was.

They really don't look light to me.

Fortunately for us there is a great shuttle system from the various parking lots to the fairgrounds.

I wanted to have a clear view for photos of the Light Horse Draw. I found a seat on the top row of the grandstand a half hour before the show. Turns out it was a great spot to watch the horses enter the ring. Lucky me.

The singing the National Anthem felt very solemn to me this morning.

It seemed to me that the horse handlers put as much effort into the pulls as the horses did. It didn't take long for the 12 teams to pull 5,000 lbs. No one was eliminated.

The Norwood Fair is a family-oriented event. Watch for this little guy. You will see him again.

1,000 lbs. added for round 2.

Much more power was required to pull the extra weight.

Such majestic animals.

Around this time a man sat down next to me and told me that he has seen them go to 10,000 lbs. and back in the day when they didn't have enough weights, he remembers them enlisting a few heavy men to hang on to the load so they could complete the competition.

It looks like our little guy is geting bored. Maybe he is wishing that....

.... he was a dairy farmer's kid. Hmmmm..... maybe not. I don't read enthusiasm on this little girl's face.

We never did stay for the end of the Light Horse Draw. It was getting chilly and we were tired.

After walking through a couple of buildings with displays of the regular things you'd expect to see at a fall fair - quilts, baking, flower arranging, giant pumpkins, school kids' work, photography, crop samples ......... we finished off by walking through a big shed with the 4H Calf and Junior Show contestants getting ready for their day in the sun.

Looks like the future of farming is in good hands.

And the icing on the cake of the day: Ted walked over 3 km.