International ploughing challenge that’s all set to pull in the crowds

The fact that ploughing your own furrow has never been more popular as a pastime is illustrated by the prestigious Five Nations event.

Originally scheduled to take place in Somerset last October, it was shifted to Doncaster for next weekend because the original organisers couldn’t cope with the numbers.

David Chappell says: “They didn’t have the room to accommodate them all, so we decided it would be a good idea to have it up here at the same time as our local event.”

As a result, over 150 ploughmen will be competing in South Yorkshire, using everything from horses to today’s biggest horsepower tractors, as the international event is staged alongside the South Yorkshire Charity Ploughing Match and the Thorne and Hatfield Charity Ploughing Match.

“The Five Nations has always previously been about the modern ploughmen,” says David Chappell. “But we felt that the vintage involvement would create even greater interest. They are the tractors that the public want to see. They like to watch them puffing away, popping and smelling of grease and oil. There’s a nostalgia to it and you regularly hear someone saying ‘my grandad used to have one like that’.”

David Chappell, the co-organiser with Ian White, farms 800 acres around Hatfield Woodhouse and Lindholme. So what does she think is the reason for the rising popularity of this rural sport?

“I’ve been ploughing in matches for over 50 years. If you go back 20 years and you had an entry of 35 ploughmen you would count it a good day. These days there are nearly always in excess of 100 at every match.

“There has been a huge upsurge in interest in vintage tractors especially. They don’t cost a massive amount to buy and restore. People buy them, many of them non farmers but with a countryside interest, run around a yard or on the road with them, then buy a plough and start coming along to the matches.

“That’s why this year we have included the vintage ploughing section in the Five Nations for the first time.”

According to David, vintage tractors are not solely the province of 60-somethings with time on their hands. “We have a strong contingent of 21-24 year olds taking part now. They may have a better eye than the older ones, but nothing beats experience. “Every field is different. Each has a different texture and different undulation. That’s where experience of all types of terrain comes into play.”

Fellow organiser Ian White is wheelchair-bound since a fall from a ladder that broke his spine when he was 21. He’s now 49 and had carried on farming until his health problems caught up with him. He started the Ian White Charity Ploughing Match with David at Lindholme in 1995 and is responsible for all of the totting up of points awarded by the judges, the raffle and making sure the rest of the stewards are on their game. From modest beginnings it is now run through the Thorne and District Agricultural Society. “In the past 10 years we have raised over £7,000 for local charities,” says David.

“We normally get around 100 entries each year including the horse ploughing, which is always a draw for the public.

“When Thorne Agricultural Show stopped in 1999, due to lack of public support, I was asked to join and that’s when the ploughing matches started growing even bigger.

“Our ploughing match days are now the largest agricultural event in the area.”

As well as today’s leading tractor brands there will be a number of little grey Fergies, Fords, Fordsons and David Brown tractors competing in the vintage sections.

David says you might pick up a tractor vintage tractor for £1,000 to £3,000 and a vintage plough, usually a Ransome, for between £30-£600.

The Five Nations competitors, from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland include just one Yorkshireman, farmer’s son Nicholas Davenport from Dewsbury.

“We have high hopes for Nick,” says David. “He’s competing in the Conventional ploughing section. But he faces stiff competition, not least from John Tracey of Northern Ireland. He has been runner-up seven times in the World Ploughing Championships.”

David Chappell and his elder brother Ken have run the Society of Ploughmen for many years. They started it when a previous ploughing organisation went bust in 1971.

Together thy have brought the World Ploughing Championships to England twice during their 40 year involvement. Their father was a British Empire Ploughing Champion and David’s highest finish was seventh in the World Championships himself.

“Our ambition is to bring the World Championships back to England one more time and we’re hoping to make an announcement about that shortly.”

Two days of competition

The two-day event takes place in a different 80-acre location each day. Saturday’s ploughing will take place on land adjacent to Stainforth Road, Barnby Dun, near Doncaster.

Sunday’s will be held on land at HM Prison Lindholme, Hatfield Woodhouse, four miles rom the Barnby Dun location.

There is still time to compete. Contact David on 01302 840098

Start Time both days: 9.30am. Entry: £3 adults; £2 children.