Gianina Schwanecke

A young woman has made history after winning the tractor pull event at Northland Field Days in Dargaville over the weekend.

The tractor pull event sees competitors drive a tractor over a 100 metre course pulling a weighted sledge.

Drivers are tested on their skill in obtaining the best pulling speed and fastest time.

Ella Martin is the first woman to win the competition in it's almost 40-year history.

Coming from a family of contractor tractor and truck drivers, she learned to drive a tractor with her older brothers' help at age 12.

The now 17-year-old first entered the competition last year after watching them compete.

Martin said most of the young men she was competing against in this year's race were her friends.

"Being the only girl was quite intimidating," she admitted.

After winning her first race she started to feel better though and was "stoked" to be named a finalist.

Ella Martin learned to drive a tractor with her brothers' help at age 12 and first entered the competition last year after watching them compete.

Taking out the top title left her "quite speechless" and with the "biggest smile on her face".

Martin attributed her win to a solid start.

"It all sort of depends on how you start. Because if you have a good start and make all the right gear changes up the track you can be pretty successful. The start is probably key to everything."

She has been building her experience working part-time driving tractors for friends which is helping fund her midwifery studies at Auckland University of Technology (AUT).

"I'm sort of ready to get back into a tractor," she said. "It's pretty cool being able to drive a tractor and it's good to have it to fall back on when I go home for breaks and that."

Martin encouraged other people, especially young women, to give it a go.

This story was originally published by RNZ