It requires quick and strong hands to maneuver an eight-horse hitch of Percheron draft horses. Once entering the show ring, these majestic beasts quickly adjust to distribute the weight of the wagon and its passengers. They become like soldiers — synchronized in step and driven with purpose. Not for battle, but for competition. They are athletes competing for center stage.

Holding the reins is their “coach” Ross Honsberger, 33, with his wife, Nicole, next to him in the wagon. He’s part of a team that meshes two families — the Wagners from Ohio and the Dingmans from Michigan — who bring their draft horses together to compete across the country.

On Oct. 14, they were at the Michigan State University Pavilion for what some consider the granddaddy of them all: the Michigan Great Lakes International (MGLI) Draft Horse Show and Pull.

It’s Ross’ job to see that these mighty and manicured animals compete as a unit — all in step, in straight lines, with heads held high at all times.

Outside the arena, the thunderous steps of the horses’ massive hooves hit the pavement and shake the pavilion. Their shiny, but hefty, body armor clinks and clanks. And when the horses slow down, the armor sounds like church chimes. It’s a dance of sorts, requiring precision movement that’s guided with eight leather harnesses weaved between fingers on just one set of hands.

It’s tricky because “it comes with the pull of great horsepower,” Ross says. “It really takes some strength to handle them.”
The weight of eight horses with hitches can be up to 9,000 pounds. Just idle, the driver holds about 40 pounds of reins. That can quickly climb to 75 pounds of pressure on the driver as the horses take off.

Competition’s stats
At the end of competition, it was Albert Cleve and Jim Day of Farmington, Mo., who took the top prize and $8,000. They claimed first in the eight- and six-horse hitch categories.

At the show, the Honsbergers finished sixth out of 12 in the eight-horse hitch, and their team took second in the youth cart class, driven by family friend Marissa Supers. The team also claimed first in the all-breeds cart classes (for both men and women), driven by Ross and Nicole. “On this day, that means we had the best horse on the grounds,” Ross says.

The winning horse, named Silk, is a 5-year-old, pregnant, 1-ton mare, measuring 18.2 hands (one hand is 4 inches). She is one of the wheel horses (next to the cart) in the eight-horse hitch. The wheel horses are the largest and most muscular of the “eight-up.” They are first charged with moving the wagon before the next swing team takes some of the weight, followed by the point horses and finally the lead team.

To get the desired high steps out of the Percherons, Ross says it requires a lot of training outside the show ring. “It’s also a lot to do with how you shoe them, not necessarily a heavier shoe, but a method,” says Ross, who is a farrier.

Hooves are shod in what the industry calls “scotch bottom shoes,” where the toe is squared off and the sides flared to cause the horse to break over earlier.

Unite to compete
Ross, an Ohio State University graduate and an Elmore, Ohio, native, got interested in draft horses at a young age and showed through the Nick Wagner family farm of All Star Farms in Wayne, Ohio. They became friends with Doyle and Renee Dingman of Belle View Percherons in Bellevue.

At a previous MGLI, Ross met Doyle and Renee’s daughter, Nicole, who would later become his wife. They have a son, Brezlin, and are expecting their second child in spring.

The two families combine their horses to compete in about 10 shows, from Oklahoma to Massachusetts to Colorado.

At MGLI, the melded team also won in the Percheron Mare Team Hitch and in Percheron Mare Unicorn Hitch categories.

Ross says money can be made competing, but “it’s more about the love of horses and the people who show them. And it’s about meeting new people.”

MGLI is one of the last shows of the year and considered the premier, drawing 842 horses and more than 35,000 spectators.

It is the only show in the country to feature halter classes, hitching, plowing, pulling and riding for Clydesdales, Belgians, Percherons, Shires and mules at the same time and location.

The Wagners own about 25 head of draft horses, while the Dingmans have about 20. Each family operation produces about six to seven babies a year. All of Wagners’ competitive horses come up to Michigan for the summer season and then return to the All Star Farms for overwintering.

A crowd pleaser
In its 41st year, MGLI drew 35,000 people to the pavilion over four days. Aaron Rice, its president, says people come from all over North America, including Ontario, Alberta, California, Arizona and Texas. Part of the appeal is the variety of competitions over every discipline.

“We have halter classes during the day, while the evening shows are with hitches, and the late show is horse pulling,” he says.

The competition brings in an estimated $1.3 million to the tri-county area of Clinton, Eaton and Ingham. It also dolls out $66,500 in purse money. “We use up hotels, fill up eating establishments, buy items and provide the second-biggest economic contributor to the area — second only to the Dentist Expo,” Rice says. “Teams can spend $1 million to $2 million on a season — much like NASCAR.”
In total, 242 farms exhibited and 28 vendors provided a variety of wares for sale.

New this year was the Tri-State Unicorn Challenge, with a $3,000 purse. Participants must compete in the Ohio and Indiana State Fair Breed Unicorn classes, as well as the MGLI Breed Unicorn Class to enter. “In our first year, we had nine compete, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 25 next year,” Rice says.

Weather woes
The weather was not especially kind to this year’s event. “It was like a monsoon season,” Rice says. “We had horses in the upper barns, the main arena barn, tents, and they all have to appear in the main arena. These big horses are drawn by a leather line, and when it’s wet, it can create a dangerous situation.”

Rather than entering the indoor arena from the outside, the downpour meant that hitches had to be stacked in every isle inside the pavilion and eventually flow together through the center aisle to enter the arena. “It was hectic and hard on staff and operators, but we had no safety issues in getting traffic in and out of the ring,” Rice says.

While the rain posed somewhat of a logistical nightmare, Rice says it may have contributed to the 2,200 bump in spectators over last year.

Thanks also to an increase in advertising, Rice says he’s seeing younger families make a day of it. “About seven years ago, we recognized that the people who like to follow draft horses were aging out,” he says. “Horsemen love to perform for crowds, and crowds are critical to the financial end of the show. We have been working hard to build a great family-type atmosphere.”

One attention-getting tactic was a parade through downtown Lansing before the show. “We have been trying to make ourselves more visible, while also appealing to political groups,” Rice says. “For the fourth year, Virg Bernero, [Lansing mayor] was gracious enough to allow a few hitches to circle through town and provide rides. Downtown merchants responded by providing a special lunch.”

Exposure to these giants builds interest, Rice adds, including in their ancient history of being used as war horses with knights and armor, before progressing to work in farming and construction. They are still widely used in logging.

Increasing crowd interest is vital after the former Gov. Jennifer Granholm several years ago cut funding for fairs, races and large exhibitions, Rice says. Several sponsors help carry the costs, including major sponsors Michigan Farm Bureau, Tractor Supply Co., GreenStone Farm Credit Ser-vices and the Elite trailer company.

New horse park
Rice and a 23-member volunteer committee run the event. They’ve figured out how to run a show in cramped quarters, increase spectators, drum up sponsor support, and build visibility and marketing, but are now challenged with how to handle growth. After a drop from 2007 to 2012, the industry is ramping up again, partly due to an improving economy.

MGLI was originally coordinated with the state fair in Detroit, but made the switch to East Lansing 22 years ago when the MSU pavilion opened. “As nice as this facility is, it lacks livestock housing that we need. We are unable to secure more, so we’re challenged on what to do,” Rice says.

The Michigan Equine Partnership, which is focused on establishing a facility to handle larger shows, conducted a feasibility and economic development study.

Rice says Michigan is behind the times in seeing the economic value of equine and a horse park: “As seen in Oklahoma and Texas, it could provide upwards of a $30 million impact in a four- to five-day period.”

Locations are being evaluated, but Rice says it needs to be in the southern portion of Lower Michigan and have access to amenities. Jackson, southern Kalamazoo, Albion and a few other cities are being discussed for the horse park that would include a $22 million investment for the first phase, which includes the main arena and stalls. The second phase would include outside arenas, while the third phase would focus on supporting businesses.

In all, Rice says it is a $55 million investment they hope to have legs under by 2020.