LYNDEN - Sure there's the Zipper and the Galaxy 3000 and the Ring of Fire, but the real ride to be on at the Northwest Washington Fair Saturday, Aug. 20, wasn't on the fairway.
It was slow-moving, with no fast drops or gravity-defying tricks. Just 300,000 pounds of hay on 10 semi trailer beds, pulled by a snow plow. But after an 11 minute, 12 second loop through the dirt in the Grandstand, it broke the world record for the largest hayride ever.
It didn't just break the record either. It obliterated it. With 639 people - teens, families with babies and grandparents - sitting tight on the hay, the ride more than doubled the previous record of 249 people set in South Carolina in 2010, Guinness World Records adjudicator Kim Partrick said.
For the people who hit the hay to break the record, it was a very memorable day at the fair.
"It was awesome being a part of something really special," said Custer resident Norma Hachett, who was on the hayride with her daughter and grandkids.
Her grandson loves hayrides and already wanted to go again once it was over.
"On my bucket list, I figure breaking a world record is on there somewhere," said Bellingham resident Erik Gibson. "This is the easiest way for me, sitting on a pile of hay."
The mastermind of the hayride was Sean Taylor of Lynden's Big Oak Ministries, who was approached by fair manager Jim Baron about breaking a record at the fair. He worked with people at Guinness to come up with the best record to break that could include a lot of public participation and decided on the hayride. Safety was a top priority, with test runs of the trailers on the loop, training for the volunteers and safety advice from LTI trucking, which provided the trailers and support.
Taylor felt good to watch the record-breaking ride go off without a hitch Saturday, but he doesn't know about setting up another record-breaker for next year. It was a lot of fun but also a lot of work.
"I might be a one-record guy," he said. "We'll see."
If he does give it a shot again, though, Lynden resident Karen Boon will be all over it. She was one of the first in line to take part in the hayride.
