FRYEBURG — Hundreds crowded into the pulling ring on Friday to watch the 6-foot elimination sweepstakes for oxen.
Teams of two yoked together had to pull increasingly heavy loads of concrete at least 6 feet or they were eliminated. After each round, a tractor would drop a concrete weight onto the load.
While their owners seemed intent on the task, many of the oxen acted like they didn’t know they were supposed to pull straight. One pair circled several times while an owner shouted commands and whipped at them with a wooden rod.
“It looks like he’s hurting them,” a woman said. But the oxen barely reacted to the repeated whacks, and then had their yoke chained to the load of concrete.
Two massive oxen lurched forward, pulling thousands of pounds, and stopped. The measure was 54 inches, just 6 inches shy of enough to move to the next round. The second pull was just over 6 feet, enough to continue. The crowd cheered.
The oxen plodded back to the waiting area for the next round.
The winners of the elimination contest were not available early Friday evening.
A 3,300-pound distance pulling contest was set for later Friday night.
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