Match Of 57 year Ago

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31365, 10 May 1967, Page 34

Match Of 57 y ear Ago

week’s ploughing contests are being held in the district of the Lincoln Ploughing Match Association. The first match under the auspices of the association was held on July 26, 1910, but it seems that there could have been an earlier association in the district for the minutes of a meeting on May 9, 1910, records that it was held to see if public interest warranted the revival of a ploughing match association.

“The Press” of July 27, 1910, had this to say about the match in 1910: The first ploughing match under the auspices of the Lincoln Ploughing Match Association was held yesterday on a 30-acre lea paddock at Springston which had been kindly lent for the occasion by Mr Sagar. The whole competition was brought to a most successful conclusion and considerable credit is due to the committee of management and the energetic secretary, Mr G. Rennie, who organised the match.

The weather was fine but a bitterly cold sou-wester blew across the ground all day and made matters rather unpleasant for the spectators. However in spite of

the cold there was a very large attendance of the public, quite 1200 being on the ground, and the whole progress of the competition was watched with great attention and interest Twenty nine teams entered and all but one put in an appearance, several of the competitors having come from long distances such as Waimate, Morven, Willowbridge, Ashley, etc. Messrs A. Whyte (Riccarton), and J. Sowden (Dunsandel) judged the ploughing and Mr K. Mclntosh (Kaiapoi) judged the harness and grooming. The ploughing judges were both highly satisfied with the work being done, characterising it as being excellent on the whole and above the average of the work done at several ploughing matches that have been held recently. It was certainly a fact that in several cases the striking out was poor but this can be put down to the inexperience of the competitors, many of whom had never faced a judge before and also to the bitter cold which caused the horses in the teams to become restive and unmanageable. As the work progressed it became rapidly better and there is no doubt that the

work done by the single furrow ploughs was a revelation. In this class the Ashley veteran, W. Duffle, sen. got beaten by W. Musson, a Ladbrooks man, who did some splendidly consistent work. A. Brown, jun., a Waimate competitor who recently annexed the prize at Ashburton, was again first in the open cut-as-you-please class; but J. Hay, jun., of Morven, —a son of John Hay, onetime overseer of the agricultural college at Lincoln, — ran him very close for the premier place, both men doing excellent work. C. A. Campion, of Prebbleton, won the district championship and the cup presented by Mr R. H. Rhodes. J. Bowden, of Tai Tapu, was first in the B class and C. H. Tucker, the only entrant, took the awards in the class for boys under 19 years. There was a very fine lot of horses on the ground and In the majority of cases the appearance of the harness and gear reflected great credit on the ploughman responsible for its care.

In the evening a well attended dinner was held at Lincoln, and the president of the association, Mr R. W. Lockhead, presented the winners with their prizes.