Horse pull competition draws crowd at Porquis Fall Fair in Iroquois Falls area

From prized roosters to winning garden fresh vegetables, the importance of agriculture was at the head of the table at the Porquis Fall Fair.

For more than one-hundred years, since the First World War, this fall fair has been a mainstay in the village of about three-hundred people, which is not a part of Iroquois Falls.

The president of the Porquis Agricultural Society, Mona Liznick, remembers prepping for the event when she was a child.

"My father used to have registered Hereford cattle so we’d have to wash them, shine their hooves, brush the horses; and we used to have to braid their hair (and) polish brass," Liznick told CTV News.

The horse pull competition was the main draw on this day, bringing in dozens of spectators from around the surrounding area including Helene Sicard from Val Gagne.

“I was raised on a farm with horses. And I know all the work they do with that and it’s just wonderful to see them work," said Sicard.

Joshua Halliday, the president of The Northern Draft Horse Pull Association, which is headquartered in New Liskeard, said four teams registered to compete at the Fair: two from Quebec, one from Moonbeam and his from New Liskeard.

“We all pull Belgium horses. That’s top notch pulling horses as far as I’m concerned, so I’ve always pulled Belgium and I always will," said Halliday.

His horses are trained daily from May through the end of October and he said they have no issue moving more than twice their weight.

“They take a lot of work and you know, my two kids there, they’re right into it too," said Halliday. "They come with me every night to exercise the horses ... so you gotta be very dedicated to do the job.”

Halliday said it is fun to perform for the crowd and the pullers appreciate the recognition they receive from the fans.