Ploughmen Set for World Ploughing Contest in England

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Jim Elliott, winner of the horse ploughing championship, with equine team Harry and Prince.

The 47th annual World Ploughing contest will be held in England, Sept. 16-17. Representing the United States will be Conrad Gruber and Marvin Goplen, both of Minnesota. 

The contest is part of World Ploughing 2000, a four-day event that will also include the 50th annual British National Ploughing championships. It will take place at the Lincolnshire Showgrounds, Lincoln, approximately 150 miles north of the capital city of London.

"We are delighted to be bringing the World Ploughing Contest to Lincolnshire after an absence of 16 years," said Ken Chappell, director of the Society of Ploughmen, joint organizers of World Ploughing 2000, "especially as this year is also the Golden Jubilee of the British National Ploughing championships. We've put together a program that will appeal to everyone interested in farming and rural life. You don't have to be a farmer or ploughing enthusiast to enjoy it."

The British National Ploughing championships will take place on Sept. 14-15.

"This brings together more than 300 of the country's best ploughmen and women, who will battle it out for the honor to represent England at the World Ploughing Contest in 2001," said Susan Frith, press officer for the Society of Ploughmen. "That contest will be held in Denmark."

The British contest features 11 ploughing classes including horse ploughing, vintage tractors, horticultural equipment, and conventional and reversible modern tractor ploughing. Every year more than 10,000 ploughmen compete in local matches to qualify for a place in the national championships.

"The horse ploughing is a pageant of farming history," Susan said. "... Graceful working horses resplendent in nodding plumes and glittering brasses. The vintage section includes tractors and tackle that have shaped British farming over the past 100 years. The horticultural section features specialist tractors and equipment for market gardeners and smallholders."

Conventional ploughing is still the traditional method used on many farms, but nowadays the reversible is the commercial plough of choice. Reversible ploughing provides a more uniform, level seed bed than the conventional method, with fewer furrows to damage farming equipment.

This year's World Ploughing Contest has attracted 60 contestants from 30 nations. Each two-man team includes the current National Ploughing champion from each country.