Island Life October/November 2018

Country Life
Ploughing through
the rain to victory
The IW County Ploughing Match was hit by a
torrential downpour this September, but that
didn’t stop both spectators and ploughers from
enjoying the event at Atherfield Farm, Chale,
held there with the kind permission of Mrs Ann
Henton.
Ricky Attrill put on a sterling display and was
awarded the IW County Ploughing Match Open
Championship Trophy. Not only that, but he also
won an award for best kept modern tractor, and
The Roy Kingswell Perpetual Challenge Cup for
the Best Work by a Match Plough.
Other events included The Ryland-Short
Challenge Trophy - Young Competitors Class
won by Mr Ealey, and the NFU Mutual Finance
Cup - Best Work Done by a General Purpose
Plough, won by Mr Slocombe.
Ploughing matches are a tradition of the
agricultural calendar that span back to the
1800s. Then they were a means to prove the
most skillful farm worker, and could lead to a
better job in the autumn! These days, the winner
earns the right to represent the Isle of Wight at
the National Ploughing Championships. The
winner of this goes on to represent Great Britain
at the World Ploughing Championships.
Above: Ploughing match winner Ricky Attrill
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