Friday, 27 June 2025 10:55

Mud, Rain, and Roaring Engines: 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull thrills crowds despite weather

Written by  Mark Daniel
The wet and muddy track conditions added an extra layer of difficulty to the competition at Fieldays. The wet and muddy track conditions added an extra layer of difficulty to the competition at Fieldays.

Despite the rain and a liberal coating of mud, engines roared, and the 50th Fieldays Tractor Pull Competition drew crowds of spectators across the four days of the annual event.

Contestants put their machines to the test in the challenging conditions, competing in categories determined by tractor and load weight, age and modifications.

For the first time in many years, the competition welcomed a South Island competitor all the way from Gore, along with a group from the Bay of Plenty.

The wet and muddy track conditions added an extra layer of difficulty to the competition.

Organiser Dan Reymer said that this year was one of the wettest years they've had for a long time.

"We lowered the kilowatt-per-kilo ratio just to get the tractors through the mud. There was still some seriously good racing out there, and it's as much about the driver's skill as the tractor's performance. The winners can come down to fractions of a second," said Reymer.

In the Weight Transfer class, with the aim to pull a tractor mounted sledge down the track, to which weight transfer is gradually added, the winner was contractor Trent Hickford.


Read More:


Thomas Fare took out the Weigh-Adjusted competition, where two tractors race side by side pulling a concrete block, with its weight adjusted following a measure of horsepower on a dynamometer.

The winner of the Modified Tractor competition went to Wally Sinton, and the Pre-85 Class to Andrew Reymer.

The Brent Garrett Sportsmanship Award went to Rowland Amber and the First Time Entrant Award went to Fergus Goodwin, with the latter commenting, "I've been volunteering for Tractor Pull for over 10 years, and it's the first time I have entered, after peer pressure made me get in the cab".

Helping to power this year's golden anniversary celebrations was new Major Sponsor PTS Logistics, who joined returning sponsors, Corson Maize and Giltrap Agrizone.

More like this

Deutz AG and TAFE Motors Launch Engine Facility in India

Founded in Cologne, Germany, in 1864, Deutz AG is the world’s oldest engine company, with its engines and systems used in construction equipment, agricultural machinery, material handling equipment, such as forklift and telehandlers, as well as stationary equipment such as gen-sets.

Deutz AG and TAFE Motors Launch Engine Facility in India

Founded in Cologne, Germany, in 1864, Deutz AG is the world’s oldest engine company, with its engines and systems used in construction equipment, agricultural machinery, material handling equipment, such as forklift and telehandlers, as well as stationary equipment such as gen-sets.

Featured

NZ Pest Crisis Costs Farmers $466M a Year — Survey

New Zealand's pest problem has reached crisis point, according to Federated Farmers' second National Pests Survey, which shows farmers are spending more money and effort on control — yet pest numbers keep climbing faster than they were two years ago.

Third H5 Bird Flu Case Found in NZ Wild Bird

Testing confirms H5 bird flu in a single northern giant petrel, found dead on a remote Cape Palliser beach in the Wairarapa, says Dr Mary van Andel, the Ministry for Primary Industries' (MPI) Chief Veterinary Officer.

National

Machinery & Products

Suzuki Launches Jimny Horizon

Suzuki New Zealand has announced the arrival of the latest version of its Jimny SUV, the Horizon special edition, a…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Domestic Focus

OPINION: After hogging the media limelight for telling a NZ Chinese MP to "go back home", Winston Peters has decided…

A No-Brainer

OPINION: With fuel prices soaring, one would have expected most farmers to be reclaiming excise duty on petrol.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter