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Steve's Corner Pull Results

Welcome MATPA family and friends to our virtual round table, prepare a pot of coffee and sit down with MATPA family and friends to shoot the breeze.

I welcome you to check back often to catch up on the latest gossip and information.

Steve's Biography

2/19/11:
Time sure gets away from a person!

Wow, after realizing how long since my last post - I thought it was time to ramble on again! Looks like we had just finished the Moniteau County Fair pull last summer as I wrote my last post. A lot of
water has run under the bridge since then. The 2010 season finished out really well. Along with the rest of the summer, rain seemed to follow us every where we went, and the Eldon pull was no exception! Just like the 2009 season, we were unable to completely finish the classes because
of the rain. And rain heavy it did!

The 2010 Season Banquet was held at the Isle of Capri Casino and Hotel in Boonville, MO. This was a nice change. We had a catered meal in a nice banquet hall. Attendance was very good and it looked like
everyone had a nice time. Some of us even stayed around a couple of hours to "donate" some more money to keep the lights on! LOL.

One of the big things I can ramble on about that has happened since last summer, is my trip to Tunica, MS for the Southern Nationals for the first time. Courtney and I made arrangements for the boys to
stay with relatives so that she could go along. Neither one of us had been gone that far, and for any length of time since our honeymoon in 1998. We were really looking forward to the trip. We made hotel
reservations to stay at the Fitz along with most of the other pullers we knew that were going too. I made arrangements with PeWee to haul my tractor down on Wednesday, and then Courtney and I followed down later on that afternoon with the van. She and I left about 1pm and walked into the hotel lobby about 9:15pm. I was scheduled to pull on Thursday and Saturday. When attending the drivers meeting and seeing the amount of people there and the number of tractors - I knew this was going to be something different than your normal antique/classic tractor pull. Although I brag about how well we run our pulls, this was like watching a well rehearsed dance. Everyone was polite, knew where to go, and when to be there. They pulled almost 1200 tractors in three days! They had two tracks. In the two total days I was there, I didn't see any arguments - and heard very little (if any) complaining. I didn't do real good on
Thursday - I couldn't get hooked up in my first class, and then beeped the horn in my second class. Courtney informed me that night that it’s a long ways down here to get disqualified. LOL.

I had never been in this part of the country before, so getting to see the differently locations around Tunica was a treat for Courtney and I. Thursday evening after we got done pulling, we went to the
Hollywood Restaurant. It sits by itself along an old highway in an old brick building. But I'll tell you this, I have never had a better steak in my entire life. And we all know how I like to eat! We also had
breakfast at the Blue & White, a small hometown café-type setting. On Friday, several of the MATPA pullers joined up and we went to Memphis to tour some of the attractions. First up was Graceland. Courtney is a big Elvis fan! I had been when I was 16, so I remembered some of it, but not all of it, so it was alright to go back. I have several stories to tell if you are interested about Graceland, but don't want to take up too much room! All I can tell you is two things: 1 - DON'T SIT ON THE FURNITURE IN ELVIS' HOUSE!!, 2 - DON'T TOUCH ELVIS' 4010 JOHN DEERE TRACTOR!!

We also toured Beale Street in Memphis. We ate at the Hard Rock Café where the have some really neat stuff hanging on the walls. We even got up on stage and took some pictures. We went in BB King's blues
club and had a drink, and also stepped in Coyote Ugly so Courtney could dance on the bar...yet another story...LOL. That night we went to the Hollywood Casino and looked around. They had some neat stuff in there too! They had a Delorian from the Back to the Future movies, the Batmobile, and a large scale model of Titanic among other artifacts from different movies throughout the years.

Saturday brought more pulling. I decided to throw my hat in the King of the Hill class. With 78 tractors in the class, I was happy with how I did. Several MATPA members did really well, even a couple
1st place finishes! My trip to Tunica has really kind of changed my view on tractor pulling. There is a lot bigger picture going on out there than what I was used to. The things that used to aggravate me or
other pullers around this area, are just peanuts compared to what is really going on out there. The level of competition is a lot higher than I thought. Pullers should strive to pull in classes where there are more tractors and not run to sign up for the class that only has two tractors in it. Although there are rules in certain areas, don't cry too hard, or you will be pulling against yourself! And that to me, is no fun!

 

8/11/10:

Well, it’s been a long time since I wrote last on “Steve’s Table”.  Many things have changed since 6/24/2009.  I probably have enough stuff to fill that book I was talking about.  LOL.

First of all, it’s time to get a new picture of my tractor up there.  The winter months of 2009-2010 were spent getting the 570 Cockshutt a new set of clothes.  I stripped everything off of it, and had a nice shiny coat of paint put on, built a new set of rear wheels, removed over 400lbs of weight (No – NOT A DIFFERENT DRIVER!!), and dubbed it the “Canadian Mistress”.  Courtney was always giving me a hard time about being out in the garage with my girlfriend, and the tractors were made in Canada.  So – it seemed fitting to me.

The first part of 2010 saw MATPA welcome a new President – yet another Steve at the top of the butt chewing pole.  I want to congratulate Mr. Steve Van Drimmelen on doing a fine job!  The only thing I have to complain about is the rainouts – of course, I don’t think he really had a hand in that.  Rain has seemed to plague the first half of the 2010 MATPA Season.  When you have 4 of the first 6 pulls rained out, it’s kind of hard to tell how the season is actually going to go.  But now, it seems things are picking up.  And so is the temperature.  This past Saturday was the pull at the Moniteau County Fair in California, MO.  Things were pretty warm, but we managed.  I know not everyone was looking forward to the break in the action at 5:30, but it all worked out.  We had 4 jackpot classes at the end of the night with a large turnout.  The pull ended about 12:15am.  We had a total of 206 hooks.  This has been the largest pull so far this year, but there are many more to come.

MATPA members are still some of the finest tractor pullers around.  I heard several compliments today on how well our pull was ran Saturday.  They could not believe how fast we were moving along.  We still averaged less than 2.5 minutes per tractor.  Along that line, I’m hearing from several people that they would like to go back to the old 4 p.m., start time that we had a couple years ago.  We have normally been running about 180 hooks this year.  If we knew that was going to be the case, that would be okay.  But, if you start at 4 p.m., and have a 220 hook show, it’s going to be in the wee hours of the morning when we are done.  But, if we stick to the 2 hook limit, I don’t see why we can’t go back to the 4 p.m., start time if we are running about 180 hooks.  That sure lets people get things done in the morning, and still have time to go pulling in the afternoon.  Just my two cents worth and my opinion only.  Something to consider.  And on that note:  I kind of enjoyed the break at 5:30.  An hour break would kind of be nice.  I’m sure Ben liked it from the sled aspect.  Like I said – just thinking out loud.

Points totals are starting to add up!  We only have 5 pulls left.  Some of the points races are getting pretty tight!  I’ve rambled enough for now – until next time!

 

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