ASHLAND, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) -- For more than three decades now, the Northwoods Harness Club has helped to shine a spotlight on historic sleighs, some dating back more than a century.

"The Northwoods Harness Club was founded in 1980 and I'm actually a charter member," Candy Hankins, the president of the Northwoods Harness Club, told Spectrum News 1, "so I've been doing this most of my life and this is my 34th sleigh rally."

Originally held in Duluth, Minnesota, the event now takes place every year in Ashland at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center.

"Every year we come up here and it's a family oriented group," Hankins added. "Everybody has a good time, we get out the sleighs... and we have a good time because this is our one chance to dress up old-time and do some stuff."

Bob Johnson visits every year from Michigan, flanked by horses Laverne and Shirley to help guide his sleigh.

"I usually come up and pull people around before the show," Johnson said. "It's nice to get together with other draft horse people and other horse people."

The harness club's annual Sleigh & Cutter Rally features 17 catetories that sleigh owners can be judged on, everything from best costume to best multiple hitch, and over the past 34 years the event in Wisconsin's northwoods has grown in popularity.

"They come from a couple hundred miles away," Hankins said. "In fact, one of our awards is the farthest distance traveled. We've had people come from other states, Fargo... we had someone come up from Kentucky a couple of times."

Johnson said his decision each year is an easy one, tied to those he's met in the past and hopes to meet in the future.

"The camaraderie-- you're not winning any huge prizes or anything else, but you get to know these folks. There are a lot more activities with horses out here than there is at home."

For more information on the Northwoods Harness Club, visit their website.