33 images Created 1 Dec 2017
Oxen Pulls Project
Oxen pulls have been a staple of New England county fairs for years. Most the competitors, often called drivers, have been doing this for decades as their fathers did before them. “Driving oxen is in your blood” said one of the drivers Adam. Adam has been participating in oxen pulls for 17 years. He started when he was thirteen with his father. In Adam’s barn there are photographs of his father and grandfather driving at the North Stonington Fair. Adam hopes to keep the tradition alive “If I have family hopefully my kids will want to do this. If they don’t it will break my heart. But it will their choice”.
Oxen pulling has been slowly fading away. In contests such as the North Stonington Fair there used to be fifteen or more pairs of oxen competing. Now in any given year there are around eight pair. “Its hard to spend 10,000 to win 75 bucks” Adam explained. The cost of competing is very high in both money and time.
Twice a day Adam has to work Mike and Brock his Chianina oxen. Chianina oxen are commonly used for pulling due to their size and strength. Mike and Brock each weigh around 2500lbs and are 6ft at the shoulder. At one fair they successfully pulled 10,400 pounds. In order to pull this kind of weight the oxen have to be trained and worked out almost every day.
At the contests the oxen have to be lined up and pull at the same time to move the load 6 consecutive feet. If they don’t make the six feet then they are “pinned”. Each team gets three attempts to pull the weight which increases as the contest progresses. In order to get the oxen’s attention and line them up the drivers use wooden goad sticks which snap against the oxen’s hide and wiz around their heads. Then, when every thing is lined up, the driver yells and uses the stick to start the team.
“What the public sees and what goes on are two very different things…It’s like driving them with shoestring. Their skin is so thick they don't really feel it anyway” explained Adam. Further there are rules set forth by the fairs probating excessive whipping and hitting the oxen in the face. Still while I was photographing I would hear people saying the animals are being abused. In the heat of the competition this perception is understandable, but what is not seen is the caring and time it takes to prepare a pair of oxen. For Adam Brock and Mike are like family.
For the better part of 5 years I have been returning to the fairs with my camera in hand seeking to illustrate the relationship between the drivers and the oxen. It can be illusive. There are some images which are successful, but I keep seeking the next better image. The one that perfectly captures the relationship, the power of the oxen, or the atmosphere resulting in thousands of images. But like the oxen drivers you have to know when you are pinned and you have given it your best. With this in mind I submit this project. It may not be done, but it is done for now.
Oxen pulling has been slowly fading away. In contests such as the North Stonington Fair there used to be fifteen or more pairs of oxen competing. Now in any given year there are around eight pair. “Its hard to spend 10,000 to win 75 bucks” Adam explained. The cost of competing is very high in both money and time.
Twice a day Adam has to work Mike and Brock his Chianina oxen. Chianina oxen are commonly used for pulling due to their size and strength. Mike and Brock each weigh around 2500lbs and are 6ft at the shoulder. At one fair they successfully pulled 10,400 pounds. In order to pull this kind of weight the oxen have to be trained and worked out almost every day.
At the contests the oxen have to be lined up and pull at the same time to move the load 6 consecutive feet. If they don’t make the six feet then they are “pinned”. Each team gets three attempts to pull the weight which increases as the contest progresses. In order to get the oxen’s attention and line them up the drivers use wooden goad sticks which snap against the oxen’s hide and wiz around their heads. Then, when every thing is lined up, the driver yells and uses the stick to start the team.
“What the public sees and what goes on are two very different things…It’s like driving them with shoestring. Their skin is so thick they don't really feel it anyway” explained Adam. Further there are rules set forth by the fairs probating excessive whipping and hitting the oxen in the face. Still while I was photographing I would hear people saying the animals are being abused. In the heat of the competition this perception is understandable, but what is not seen is the caring and time it takes to prepare a pair of oxen. For Adam Brock and Mike are like family.
For the better part of 5 years I have been returning to the fairs with my camera in hand seeking to illustrate the relationship between the drivers and the oxen. It can be illusive. There are some images which are successful, but I keep seeking the next better image. The one that perfectly captures the relationship, the power of the oxen, or the atmosphere resulting in thousands of images. But like the oxen drivers you have to know when you are pinned and you have given it your best. With this in mind I submit this project. It may not be done, but it is done for now.
