"Arm-chair tractor drivers?".....These were some of the boys offering advice during the Cover Girl
portion of the tractor driving contest, but they found it was a little bit more difficult when it came
their time to maneuver the obstacle course!!!

 

FFA Members from Sulphur Springs and
North Hopkins Win FFA Tractor Driving Contest

 

by: Bobby McDonald

 

 

Have you ever tried to back an 8-foot trailer between two, 10-foot staked pieces of PVC pipe, without hitting one of the pipes? Well, that's what FFA members participating in the 41st Annual FFA Tractor Driving Contest were required to do, on Tuesday night, as they followed a "time honored" pattern, that has been in place since the beginning of the Hopkins County Fall Festival and before!  "The local FFA chapters in Hopkins County were conducting an annual tractor driving competition, among the county chapters, every autumn, before the Fall Festival began, back in 1969," advised a former FFA competitor. "And, once the Fall Festival began, the contest was joined to the annual Fall Festival events. It's a great competition for youth to learn the safety and techniques of driving and operating a tractor. And, it's difficult to back a trailer through the simulated course that prepares you for some of the actual skills you'll need to operate a tractor on the farm!"

"It's hard to back that trailer and to know just where you need to pull up to, before starting to back down through the course," advised one of Tuesday night's participants. "But, it would be just like having to back a trailer load of hay under a barn or garage, if it was loaded and looking like it was going to rain. And, in the 'real life' situation, you'd be required to do it really fast, if the rain was going to get your hay wet!"

 

Local tractor dealer, Keith Bailey, explains the rules to the FFA members, before Tuesday night's contest.

 

 

And, Colton Frazier was pretty confident that he knew how to operate a tractor,
but found it was a little bit harder than he thought, on Tuesday night!

 

 

 

 

"Then, you have to be able to put the tractor back in the garage, once you've completed the work, and the contest requires you to do that as well," inserted another participant. "It's not easy, but all the skills are ones you can use on your farm!"

"And, we stress safety throughout the contest," added one of Tuesday night's judges, and local tractor dealer, Keith Bailey. "We insist that the students use their seat belts, locate and use the emergency brake, and know how to safely operate a tractor. If we can have prevented one tractor related death, in the over 40 years of hosting the contest, our time has been well spent. I know of several tractor related deaths that have occurred in Hopkins County, simply because the operator wasn't observing the proper operation of equipment! We all need to be reminded of just what dangers are out there, if we become complacent!"

Tuesday night's contest was a timed event, and allowed the student maximum times, but also stressed safe speeds throughout the course.

 

 

 

 

 

Winners in Tuesday night's contest included:

 

                                     1st Place ......... Colby Parker, Sulphur Springs FFA

 

Colby Parker finishes his winning tractor drive, in Tuesday night's competition.

 

 

                                     2nd Place..........Zach Teri, North Hopkins FFA

 

Zach Teri, of North Hopkins FFA, works on his second place finish in the competition.

 

 

                                     3rd Place...........Colton Frazier, Sulphur Springs FFA

 

 

And, Colton Frazier managed to place third in the competition, once he got his "backing" figured-out.

 

 

Congratulations to the FFA Tractor Driving
Winners!!!

 

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