Fifth-generation pullers debut in Pickering

By Jon Dykstra | June 11, 2026 |

JON DYKSTRA/THE FORUM
Emmitt Gray, 4, drives Patchy and Blue Boy during Saturday’s Pickering Pony Pull.

PICKERING, Mo. — Reid Gray’s smile couldn’t be erased following Saturday’s Pickering Pony Pull as his father loaded Patchy and Blue Boy into the trailer to head home to Villisca, Iowa. As the veteran pullers came up to congratulate his brothers, Weston and Emmitt, on their first pulling competition, the 2-year old showed off his trophy that each of the Gray brothers received and let them know, “I won.”

The youngest of the brothers was a spectator for Saturday’s Pony Pull, but Weston, age 6, and Emmitt, age 4, participated against the adults in Pickering who come from states away to compete. And for their father, Cody Gray, winning wasn’t about if their ponies pulled the most weight, it was about seeing his boys enjoy what has been such a big part of his family’s life.

“They like horses and everything, and they want to be a part of it,” Cody said. “They think they can do it all. They are little, but they think they are big already.”

Ten months earlier, Cody, along with his draft horses, Jay and Tony, won the Overload Draft Horse Pull at the 88th annual Pickering Horse Show. Cody is a fourth-generation puller and he got his start much like his children — pulling with ponies.

“We practiced pulling them at home,” Weston said.

The Pickering Pony Pull was started in 2019, so Cody never participated in it, but it was the perfect opportunity for his sons to take the reins right down the road from Villisca.

“We’ve been working them for about three weeks,” Cody said. “They’ve been pretty excited to give it a try, that is for sure. Every day, they ask me if today is the day for the Pony Pull.”

Weston and Emmitt took turns pulling and Patchy and Blue Boy ended up pulling three times their weight, finishing 21st in the event. Pull organizer Dagmar Whipple presented all three boys with youth trophies after the event as the top youth participants.

“It was a lot of fun,” Cody said. “It’s been a lot of fun getting them ready. They enjoy it and say that they want to do it again. It is a fight for which one wants to drive them, that is for sure.”

The finishers were Jerry Kindhart from Perry, Illinois, who was first with four times his ponies’ weight. JR Boyles of Topeka, Kansas, was second and Jacob Heuertz of Valley Falls, Kansas, was third.

Cody Gray and many of the pullers will return to Pickering on Aug. 7 and 8 for the 89th Pickering Horse Show. Emmitt will be there cheering on his dad, but also eagerly awaiting next year’s Pony Pull for another shot to take the reins himself.

“I want to come back again,” Emmitt said.