Pictured above: Dana Lile

06/06/2024

The annual Fieldays Tractor Pull competition is back next week for the 49th year running. The familiar smell of exhaust fumes mixed with hamburgers and hotdogs will fill the air while the machines and their drivers sit idle, waiting for their moment of fame.

Among the competitors is Te Awamutu’s Dana Lile, one of the few female entrants. She is returning with her Case IH 240 Puma tractor to back up her wins from last year's event.

Dana placed third in both the weight transfer and weight adjusted classes and was given the first-time entrant award.

But being one of the only female competitors hasn’t deterred her. “I like to show them up and that’s what I go out there to try my best and do”, says Dana. 

Tractor Pull was first held at Fieldays in 1975. It was a low-key affair, with small horsepower, manual gearboxes, two-wheel drive tractors and persistent mechanical problems.

This year, the sight of more than 85, mostly four-wheel drive, computer-assisted tractors will take to the farmer's version of the quarter mile.

The competition attracts farmers, contractors, and mechanics, who compete in weight adjusted and weight transfer categories.

“For many of the drivers they’re driving tractors every day. I jump in my tractor once or twice a year, so I don’t get a lot of practise. That is the biggest challenge for me”, says Dana.

In the weight transfer, the emphasis is as much on driver skill as on the tractor's raw power. The competitor must try to get as far as they can as weight is gradually added to the sledge. 

In the weight adjusted, standard agricultural tractors compete based on their horsepower-to-weight ratio. The challenge lies in pulling a sledge while considering both the tractor’s weight and power.

Other categories also include modified tractors, and tractors manufactured before 1985, ensuring that tractors of all shapes and sizes have the opportunity to compete.

The purpose-built Fieldays Tractor Pull field is known as a great track for competitors and spectators alike. The hard clay-packed track runs parallel alongside the Waikato River, spanning the length of a full rugby field at 100-metres long.

"We're thrilled to once again bring together competitors from around the region," says New Zealand National Fieldays Society Venue Operations Manager Marie Rechner. "It's a celebration of our agricultural heritage. You can’t go far in New Zealand without seeing a tractor and it’s a testament to the skill and dedication of the participants who have made it so popular."

Dana believes that the best part of tractor pulling is equally the people off the track. “Everyone is great, they are always there to lend a hand and help me out”, says Dana.

Over $5000 is up for grabs, with heats running from Wednesday through to Friday, determining the competitors for Saturday's final, which takes place from 8 a.m. to 1.30 p.m.

Little George Pop-Up by local brewers Good George has been added to the riverside location for punters to grab a drink, have a yarn and of course grab something from co-located food vendor Morepork BBQ.

“For nearly 50 years, the competition has been a core part of Fieldays, and it has become a special tradition for many families and friends to sit on the bank and watch,” said Marie.