WELLS &045; She said it was stupid but fun.

She said she wasn’t going to pull this Saturday at the Wells pedal-pull, but in the end, 14-year-old Lorie Barta, a former South Dakota State Champion, hopped onto a miniature tractor and had a full pull, the best pull you can have given the weight.

Her cousin, Joleen Hogan, 15, made no qualms about her love of pedal-pulling, which is like a tractor pull except with toy pedal tractors.

&uot;Joleen, just chill,&uot; Barta, of Medford, told her cousin, who was pounding her knuckles together with excitement as she peeked on the schedule to see who was next. Hogan has won the international, national and state titles several times. But those competitions don’t accept teenagers.

For children ages 4 to 11, Saturday was a chance to qualify for state, which leads to the national competition in Omaha, Neb., and then the International, where Americans battle Canadians. Most competitions draw several hundred people.

It’s a lot to give up. Now, Colleen competes at her aunt’s pedal pulls. She doesn’t accept prizes or placements, but the thrill of victory is still there. Catching her breath after a pull, she said, &uot;I feel good.&uot;

Her aunt, Luann Barta, a pedal pulling fanatic, ran the event along with Lorie and Colleen’s mom. Luann said it’s something that builds self-esteem in children, something that can involve a whole family. She said a lot of kids will never get the chance to go to state when they get to high school, but several kids qualified in Wells.

Luann Barta got interested in pulling in the early ’90s; her two oldest daughters were good at it, and in 1992 they went to 50 pedal pulls. The next year, Luann started a business setting up pedal pulls in southeastern Minnesota. She said she wouldn’t do if her kids didn’t enjoy it so much.

And with a head-mounted microphone, she maintained a level of excitement for the 102 kids and 24 adults who participated this year. &uot;Faster, faster, faster, you can do it,&uot; was the typical encouragement. As the pull became more difficult, she yelled, &uot;Push, push, push,&uot; and finally &uot;Good job,&uot; as a four-, five-, six-, seven-, eight-, nine-year-old and so on walked away tired to collect their can of pop and, sometimes, their golden tractor trophy.

Joleen Hogan’s sister, Colleen, 17, said competition at the state, national and international level is fierce. She said most parents are supportive, but others will say, &uot;You should have done this, you should have done that. You already lost.&uot; And so it’s not too different from other sports.

Colleen, who competed in the couple competition, said she missed it too.

Colleen’s family didn’t seem like they were too different from 7-year-old Brooke Reyerson of Hartland, who competed at Wells. Running back after winning first place, beating several boys her age, she was beaming, and wearing a shirt that said &uot;Reyerson Pulling Team.&uot;

&uot;I like beating people,&uot; she said.

Her mother, Susan, said it’s something to occupy her time and something she’s good at. She and her husband tried to get their four-year-old daughter involved, but said she’s a little shy. But she said they don’t pressure their children. They asked Brooke beforehand if she wanted to compete.

She won second place in the international competition last year, and her parents hope she gets a shot at the scholarship that will be awarded this year to winners.

Hopefully she’ll enjoy the fun while she can.

(Contact Tim Sturrock at tim.sturrock @albertleatribune.com or 379-3438.)