In a field of his own when it comes to ploughing

John Hill of Hoylandswaine, near Penistone, may not be ranked alongside the likes of Jessica Ennis or Andy Murray on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year programme in December but he’s a giant in the agricultural sport of ploughing.

He’s won three World Championships and several British crowns. Next Saturday he’s back on his home turf, or furrows in John’s case, when he will compete at Mount Farm in Woolley in the Barugh & District Ploughing Match. That’s pronounced “bark” in this South Yorkshire area.

The sport has seen him travel the world. He’s ploughed in three continents and won his first world title in Spain. It has been an illustrious career and John is one of the most respected ploughmen in the world, but mums have a way of keeping their sons’ feet on the ground and that was certainly the case when John’s was around.

“I have three sisters and they all went to university. Unfortunately Mum is no longer with us, God bless her, but she always said she thought she had failed with me as I didn’t aspire to their level! But all I ever wanted was to farm and then when I started competing in ploughing matches at 14, I think my school work might have started deteriorating a bit, so perhaps she was right.

“I had to get permission for a day off from school to take part in my first match at Penistone, maybe that’s when the rot set in.”

John made an impressive entrance to the ploughing match world, winning at both Penistone and Barugh in his first year as a junior competitor back in 1971.

He went on to carry off the National Young Farmers’ Club Ploughman championship a few times too.

His first National championship in the adult ranks came in 1983 at Romsey in Hampshire and that led to his first appearance in the World Championships held in Horncastle, Lincolnshire. He finished third.

Just how much John’s ploughing career has played a major part in his life was never more evident than in 1986. He looks back at that time now with great fondness, but also not without humour. This was his and his father Roy’s Steptoe & Son moment, and something he has never lived down with his wife Valerie and close family and friends.

“Dad came with us on honeymoon (as Steptoe had with his son). It’s a standing joke that I took my father with us, but I was competing at Alberta in Canada in my second World Championships.

“When I was younger, dad would always come with me and I wouldn’t have done all I have in ploughing without him. I know that going off to ploughing matches can’t be classed as a proper holiday, or honeymoon, but we did at least get to Canada. It was my first trip abroad and it remains my favourite place in the world.

“I’ve been very fortunate to have travelled much of the world thanks to my success.

“We’ve visited Australia, New Zealand, Canada and most of Europe. This year’s World Championships were held in Croatia and I finished sixth. I was there or thereabouts but not good enough.

“Ploughing matches are all about adapting to the soil and the conditions. In Croatia they had experienced just two showers in the past six months and the soil was just coming up in lumps. There was dust everywhere. We had decided to use plastic mould boards, but in retrospect we would have been better sticking with steel. It was quite a challenge, but that’s what keeps the interest.”

John’s world titles came when he switched from competing in the conventional ploughing class to reversible ploughing in 1991. Reversible ploughing employs both left and right-handed mouldboards, which make it possible to plough up and down the same furrow.

He won in Spain and Sweden in successive years during the early part of the 90s and after several runners-up and third place finishes he won his third title at Lincolnshire Showground in 2000. He’s not been too close to the title in the past decade but last weekend he finished runner-up by just one point in the Nationals to one of the sport’s rising stars, Ashley Boyles.

“Although you never want to be beaten if I could have picked someone who I would have been satisfied to have been beaten by it would have been Ashley. He’s an excellent ploughman.”

When he’s not competing John runs his herd of 140 predominantly Holstein dairy cows at Kidfield Farm, Hoylandswaine.

The herd average is between 8,500-9,000 litres per year. Milk goes to Longley Farm in Holmfirth.

The farm is tenanted from the Cannon Hall Estate and runs to 410 acres on which he grows 160 acres of winter wheat, a little winter barley, 50 acres of oil seed rape and 30 acres of maize. Crops are grown for feed but this year’s weather has been a major cause for concern. He also runs a contracting service drilling maize under plastic and a combining and crimping service too.

“You get a season like this and you sometimes wonder what you’re doing. I’d have liked to have had everything sorted by now but the weather has put a dampener on that. We’ve had real problems with the maize so we’ve taken a fair chunk of our wheat for wholecrop.”

It is considerations such as the on-going running of the farm in more recent years that John believes may have contributed to the difference between reaching his previous heights in the sport, but he’s not complaining.

John is still as committed as ever to the sport that has served him well though. He is presently chairman of Barugh and District Ploughing Society and he will be heavily involved on the organisation side next Saturday, as well as competing.

“We are very grateful to Philip and Jane Rowbottom of Mount Farm. They allow us 30-40 acres for the match each year and they look after us splendidly. We have a great team and there is a great atmosphere. Barugh & District has been putting on ploughing matches for nearly 90 years. It’s not all about winning either. The sport has brought about great friendships and continues to do so.

“I believe in taking part in the competition too, despite how busy I am on the day already.”

Diary dates for tractor fans

Barugh & District Ploughing Society Annual Match takes place at Mount Park, Abbott Lane, Woolley on Saturday October 27.

John said: “We also have a new class this year with a new organisation called Blue Force. It’s all about Ford, Fordson and New Holland tractors and this will be their debut as a group. They are also holding a special talk and film evening at Ingbirchworth next Thursday.”

The Blue Force Talk & Film Evening will be held at Fountain Inn, Ingbirchworth on Thursday, October 25 at 7.30pm.