01403 878 026
01903 892 899
editor@aahorsham.co.uk

West Grinstead Ploughing Match

Sophie Cross at the wheel of her family’s classic MF  (©AAH/Alan Wright)

Published on 1 October 2022

The West Grinstead & District Ploughing & Agricultural Society held its annual Ploughing Match & Show on Saturday 17 September. The Society, which celebrated its 150th anniversary last year, promotes the interests of the rural community and the annual ploughing match is held to celebrate the best of arable and pastoral farming. As well as ploughing and livestock competitions, attractions such as ferret racing, gun dog scurry and falconry display attract a wider audience.

The event shifts annually between several farms in the Horsham District, with this year’s held for the first time at Field Farm in Dial Post, kindly hosted by David Exwood and Christ’s Hospital Foundation. The beating heart of the day are the ploughing matches, with classes covering everything from vintage tractors to modern machinery equipped with the latest ploughs, showing the development of farming through the ages. Independent judges assess the neatness and accuracy of the furrows (the trenches dug into the ground by the plough). This year’s overall champion ploughman was William Tupper from Bignor, with a John Deere tractor and Kverneland 2-furrow plough, whilst Gary Rutter from Hampshire was vintage champion ploughman.

The Society also organises field competitions throughout the year, with farmers coming together at the annual show for the presentation of these awards too. These competitions cover all aspects of Sussex farming including baled hay, grain, leys (fields for grazing), ploughing, livestock and vineyards, while farm diversification and conservation are also recognised.

Rowan Allan, Honorary Secretary of the Society, said: ‘There is pride at stake in the ploughing competitions, but equally there’s an important social element to the show. Farming can sometimes be a lonely occupation and days like this offer people the chance to speak to others living and working in our rural areas. There’s bound to be a bit of friendly rivalry, but farmers also share ideas and enjoy seeing machinery of all ages in action.’

Some farmers in modern tractors create neat furrows with startling speed and efficiency. Others toil, using equipment from times when farming involved even greater physical labour. Bob Jameson of Billingshurst demonstrated a steam-winched plough, powered by two locomotives at opposite ends of the field. One of the engines, a John Fowler & Co built in 1912, took part in the Coronation parade of Queen Elizabeth II. With two men required to turn the heavy plough around and others working the engines, it takes a lot of manpower to function.

Delving back even further in the agricultural timeline, Ian Williams demonstrated horse ploughing. A fourth-generation farmer from Chalvington, he’s the last person in East Sussex to show this traditional method. Ian said: ‘This has long been a family passion. It’s important that we keep it going, as it’s our heritage and you can’t tell the story of agriculture without the horse plough. The new tractors look lovely and cover the ground quickly, but at what cost to the environment?’

‘When you see a horse plough in action, you certainly respect what our farming ancestors went through. Today, Dolly, 16, and Belle, 14, are pulling the plough. I don’t work them hard, but there was a time when a pair would walk about 11 miles each day, with the ploughman behind them. He would do that all through winter, as they couldn’t plough the land until the ground had softened.’

Sophie Cross was among those demonstrating vintage equipment and is pictured above driving a Massey Ferguson TE20 with a 1920s reaper-binder, used to collect and bundle crops. She has grown up around farming, with her family being tenants of a large beef and sheep farm in Portslade. Sophie said: ‘My dad has several vintage tractors and we enjoy taking them out to rural shows. The West Grinstead match is a great social event for us and it’s nice to see quite a few other younger people here who also have an in interest in agriculture.’

GROUPS & CRAFTS

The day presents an opportunity for groups and organisations to promote their hobby to the public. The Saxon Stickmakers, a collective of about 20 enthusiasts who run workshops at Amberley Museum, were showing off hand-crafted wooden sticks, some featuring distinctive handles made with deer antlers. However, long-serving member Kenneth Wood says that attracting young members is harder than ever. ‘It is one of the problems we face and most of us are getting on a bit. Sadly, if it hasn’t got a keyboard attached, most young people don’t want to know!’

One exception is Rowan Sampson from Horsham, who was only too happy to talk about the Sussex & Kent Weald Stationary Engine Group. Rowan’s family own a rapid grinding mill built by Bamford’s in 1924. It was last used to provide power to a water pump to a Surrey house. Rowan said: ‘My grandad’s passion for engines has been passed down to my dad and now me, so it’s always been in the family. When my grandad got hold of this engine, it had been lying in a hedge for years. He managed to restore it and we like demonstrating how it works at shows like this.’

SUPPORTING YOUTH

The Society runs a bursary scheme to support young people venturing into fields such as agriculture, forestry and conservation, offering not only financial support for agricultural-based college courses at Brinsbury or Plumpton, but also providing mentoring and work experience through its membership. At the Ploughing Match & Show, livestock competitions can give children their taste of handling animals. One popular event is the Young Person’s Lamb Handling competition, won by Janneke Boers. Among those taking part were brothers Billy and Freddie Townsend from Worthing. The brothers don’t live on a farm but have become interested in rural ways since their older brother started working at Myrtlegrove Farm in Patching.

Freddie said: ‘We’ve been going to the farm every day after school. Today, we’re showing three sheep – Suzie, Buddy and Gloria. You need to walk around the ring at the right speed, but the most important thing is to keep the lamb’s shoulder by your leg. It’s good fun and we’d both like to work on a farm one day or do something with cars or tractors!’

FAIR TRADE

Many businesses and charities set up trade stalls, including Auntie Val’s, which sells jams and chutneys made by disabled people, and West Grinstead-based Cocoa Loco, which uses fairtrade, organic chocolate (we recommended the lemon drizzle bar!)  For others, the day presents a chance to show off their handicraft talents. The Wealden Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers set up a marquee, with members spinning woollen gloves, scarves, jumpers and more. Barry and Andrea Stoner of Brigstone Farm, West Chiltington are members of the Guild and run Sheep Wool Info & Friends for like-minded folk.

Barry said: ‘The price you get for a woollen fleece isn’t very high, especially when you factor in travelling to market, so we decided to spin our yarn instead. It’s a good hobby and we’ve made friends through the Guild. Today, we have members demonstrating not only spinning wheels, but also hand spinning techniques, using methods dating back thousands of years.’ 

QUEEN TRIBUTE

This year’s event was held in the wake of the death of The Queen, with two one-minute periods of silence held during the day. The hardship of the people of Ukraine was recognised too, with this year’s chosen charities including Ukraine Farming Families. After the 2020 event was cancelled due to COVID (the first time the show hasn’t taken place since the foot and mouth crisis) the Society can reflect on two strong years that have helped bring the farming community together. As it looks to the future though, there is a need to ensure the event stays true to its traditions, says Rowan Burt. 

‘Whilst we want to offer a wide range of attractions and appeal to people in the towns and villages of the Horsham District and beyond, we do turn down exhibits and trade stands if we don’t think they’re right for the event. We don't want to become a glorified car boot sale. We have established county shows in Sussex, but this is an agricultural show. We want to see it grow but not to such an extent that it is too big for our largely volunteer-based Society to run.’ 

‘However, we’re keen to bring in new educational initiatives, like the bursary scheme, and would like to involve more local schools, perhaps inviting pupils to visit local farms to learn about agricultural methods. Also, we want to ensure that we keep pace with modern farming. It is constantly evolving and we reflect that by introducing new competitions that cover farm diversification and conservation too, which are increasingly important.’

WORDS/INTERVIEWS: BEN MORRIS

PHOTOS: ALAN WRIGHT

Further information: www.westgrinsteadploughing.co.uk