At any Olympic games, one silver and two bronze medals in a single event by a team is considered outstanding. For three Rugby FFA members, it was just another Friday afternoon at the North Dakota State FFA Driving Contest. The competition was held in an adjacent lot to the North Dakota State Fairgrounds. Rugby’s Cole Anderson captured an individual silver award while Jackson Brossart and Alex Kraft both captured individual bronze awards. The FFA members were challenged with driving tractors backward and forward and between rows of sticks topped with golf balls. The challenge was to leave the sticks undisturbed and the balls in their place. Rugby chapter members Anderson, Brossart and Kraft represented District 3 in the contest. The three qualified for the state competition at a district contest Thursday, July 13 in Rugby. Before the contestants even got to show off their tractor driving abilities, they took part in an extensive testing of tractor safety, proper equipment, knowledge of the owner’s manual and charts and other information. “It’s a written safety test and they have a tractor to look at, and they’ll answer 10 questions there of what size tires (are on the tractor) and is this in a safe position, things like that,” said Rugby FFA adviser Isaac Ripplinger. “Judges evaluate how contestants navigate the tractor’s owner’s manuals and understand charts and other information about the tractors. And they have a manual they also flip through and answer 10 questions from. This is 100% FFA. The State Fairgrounds just hosts it at this time.” Contestants compete either on a basic or advanced course. Anderson and Kraft competed on the basic course, while Brossart navigated the advanced course. All completed their course without disturbing any golf balls. “I drive tractors at my family farm all the time, and Jackson and Alex do, too. It’s a little different from operating some stuff on the farm, because it’s a lot narrower than a lot of stuff and there’s a lot of backing up you have to do,” said Anderson. “I did tractor driving last year, too, so I’ve gotten used to the course from all the district and state contests I’ve done. I think I did pretty good. I got the tractor driving pretty good, because I didn’t hit anything, and I think the test went pretty well.” “It’s pretty much my full-time job every day,” said Brossart. “Mainly this time of year it’s haying, putting up hay for our cattle in the winter. And in the spring, it’s planting. We haven’t had a whole lot of rain lately, a little bit the other day, but most things are looking pretty dry.” The contest’s timing fit in with work advisers did to set up FFA project displays for the state fair. Rugby FFA Chapter adviser Kristi Tonnessen said “about 150” projects from the Rugby High School Ag Mechanics department were on display at the fair including wooden stools, wood and metal items such as eye bolts.

At any Olympic games, one silver and two bronze medals in a single event by a team is considered outstanding.

For three Rugby FFA members, it was just another Friday afternoon at the North Dakota State FFA Driving Contest. The competition was held in an adjacent lot to the North Dakota State Fairgrounds.

Rugby’s Cole Anderson captured an individual silver award while Jackson Brossart and Alex Kraft both captured individual bronze awards.

The FFA members were challenged with driving tractors backward and forward and between rows of sticks topped with golf balls. The challenge was to leave the sticks undisturbed and the balls in their place.

Rugby chapter members Anderson, Brossart and Kraft represented District 3 in the contest. The three qualified for the state competition at a district contest Thursday, July 13 in Rugby.

Before the contestants even got to show off their tractor driving abilities, they took part in an extensive testing of tractor safety, proper equipment, knowledge of the owner’s manual and charts and other information.

“It’s a written safety test and they have a tractor to look at, and they’ll answer 10 questions there of what size tires (are on the tractor) and is this in a safe position, things like that,” said Rugby FFA adviser Isaac Ripplinger. “Judges evaluate how contestants navigate the tractor’s owner’s manuals and understand charts and other information about the tractors. And they have a manual they also flip through and answer 10 questions from. This is 100% FFA. The State Fairgrounds just hosts it at this time.”

Contestants compete either on a basic or advanced course. Anderson and Kraft competed on the basic course, while Brossart navigated the advanced course. All completed their course without disturbing any golf balls.

“I drive tractors at my family farm all the time, and Jackson and Alex do, too. It’s a little different from operating some stuff on the farm, because it’s a lot narrower than a lot of stuff and there’s a lot of backing up you have to do,” said Anderson. “I did tractor driving last year, too, so I’ve gotten used to the course from all the district and state contests I’ve done. I think I did pretty good. I got the tractor driving pretty good, because I didn’t hit anything, and I think the test went pretty well.”

“It’s pretty much my full-time job every day,” said Brossart. “Mainly this time of year it’s haying, putting up hay for our cattle in the winter. And in the spring, it’s planting. We haven’t had a whole lot of rain lately, a little bit the other day, but most things are looking pretty dry.”

The contest’s timing fit in with work advisers did to set up FFA project displays for the state fair. Rugby FFA Chapter adviser Kristi Tonnessen said “about 150” projects from the Rugby High School Ag Mechanics department were on display at the fair including wooden stools, wood and metal items such as eye bolts.