The European Ploughing Championships happened in Nottinghamshire; the first time that both the Reversible and Vintage classes have been competed for at the same event on UK soil.
You couldn’t have asked for better conditions. The first weekend of spring and the sun was out, the temperature balmy and the ground conditions were just right. Taking place at Upper Morton, with permission of Joseph Camm Farming Ltd, competitors were greeted with light, sandy soil.
“This farm offers a consistency that you don’t find in many places,” said Mark Turner, chairman of organisers The Society of Ploughmen. “The soil type is the same across both fields, so every competitor has the same opportunity to impress the judges.”
None of this is to say that the competition would be easy. Forgetting, for a moment, that this was a collection of the best ploughmen and women from across Europe, the sandy conditions required the correct set-up to ensure a firm, well-defined furrow.
While the ground was relatively flat, there were undulations at certain points, meaning that a few competitors had to pay close attention to their spacings and make constant, gentle adjustments to the tractor and plough to avoid wandering.
This latter point caught some competitors out on the first day. William Tupper, England, who took part in the Reversible Championships, said that his plot on the first day was the steepest point of a sidehill. “This ground is lovely to work but it shows up every mistake,” he said.
A young man’s game…
One thing that stood out during the competition was the amount of younger competitors coming across from Europe. James Tait, who ended the weekend third in the Reversible Championships, noted that it was the youngest lineup he had seen but that the sport was still lacking young people at all skill levels.
Jack Wright, who was one of the youngest competitors at just 20, represented Northern Ireland in the Reversible class. He said that he had always enjoyed ploughing, having seen his father take part. “I think it needs to be in the blood, but if you find that love for it, it’s a lot of fun. You meet a lot of new people and can take part in the social aspects.”
Søren Møller, a junior champion from Denmark, aged 22, said that the Danish ploughing association (LangboUngdom) had worked hard to support new entrants into the competition and that he had been ploughing competitively for three years.
Sue Frith, chief executive of The Society of Ploughmen, said that organisations like LangboUngdom were doing a better job of appealing to young people. “Times have changed, and the opinion of ploughing is such that a lot of agricultural colleges don’t teach it anymore, and the Young Farmers club doesn’t hold the same number of local ploughing matches.
“You can see how European organisations have continued to receive new entrants, but there is still a desire here in the UK. Last year, at the British Nationals, we had the highest number of young ploughmen and women enter for several years.”
The winners
The Republic of Ireland had an excellent showing in the Reversible class, with Dan Donnelly taking first place with a John Deere tractor and Kverneland plough, and John Whelan placing second, using a New Holland and Kverneland combination.
James Tait, representing Scotland on a Case International 895XL and Kverneland plough, took third place, followed by Evan Punault, France, and Adrian Jamison, Northern Ireland.
The Vintage categories were dominated by English competitors, with John Crowder, on a 1944 Fordson N with a 1945 Ransome RSLD plough, taking first in the Vintage Trailed class, and Richard Ingram winning the Vintage Mounted competition with a Massey Ferguson 35 and a Ransome TS54.
Jon Cole and Stephen Watkins, also from England, were successful in the Classic Conventional and Classic Reversible classes respectively, with the former using a 1966 Nuffield 10/42 tractor and Ransome TS86 plough, while the latter used a 1978 Massey Ferguson 135 and a Ransome TS82.
The Vintage Reversible class saw the Netherlands take the lead, however, with Marius Jenniskens and Henry Navis taking first and second place. Marius was using a 1959 Deutz D30S and a 1958 Rumptstad plough and Henry was operating a 1958 Porsche Junior tractor with a 1959 Goudland plough.
Elsewhere at the event, there were trade stands for local dealers and rural crafts stalls. The vintage tractor groups also got involved with a strong showing from, with plenty of classic and vintage tractors on show.
There were also demonstrations of high cut ploughing – not judged as part of the overall championships – with current British High Cut Champion Shaun Garrod, Norfolk, operating a Fordson Dexta with a Ramsome RSLM plough, working alongside John Saunders, Carlisle, and Trevor Robinson, Penrith.
Horsedrawn ploughing could be seen, as could steam ploughing with a Guyot three furrow anti-balance plough pulled between a 1917 Fowler K5 engine, owned by Sir Robert Goodwill, and a 1918 J & H McLaren engine, owned by Robert and Richard Holt.