Seventeen countries to contest ploughing

Press, 16 April 1980, Page 27

Seventeen countries to contest ploughing

Lincoln College will become a mini-United Nations next month when ploughmen from 17 countires gather to compete in the twenty-seventh world ploughing contest. Thirty-four ploughmen will compete, representing Austria, Australia, Belgium, ' Britain, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United States, and Zimbabwe.

Each country will be represented by two ploughmen, normally the winner and runner-up of their national championships. In this year’s contest New Zealand will be represented by the last winner of the Atlantic Silver Plough, Gordon Baird, and the runner-up, Robert Walker. This will be the first world contest in which Gordon Baird has competed. A farmer at Wendon, near Gore, Baird has been a consistent competitor in ploughing finals over the years. The ruhner-up, Robert Walker, was the winner of the previous final, and represented New Zealand at the twenty-sixth world contest in Northern Ireland last year. Walker is a young farmer and farm worker at Edendale. At the age of 26, he was the youngest ploughman to win the Silver Plough. His father, Henry Walker, has also won the trophy.

The world contest will take place on the properties of Messrs J. F. and B. F. Smith, at Lincoln, the stubble ploughing being held on May 16, and the grassland ploughing on May 17. The 1980 Atlantic Silver Plough contest, sponsored this year by Mobil Oil New Zealand, Ltd, will be held on Maj’ 14 and 15. The winner and runner-up in this contest will represent New Zealand at the twenty-eighth world contest in Ireland next year. This year’s world contest . promises to be an interesting one. Among the competitors are a past winner of the Golden Plough, Hermann Altmann, of Austria, and three past runners-up, Paavo Tommiska, of Finland; John

Tracey, of Ireland, who has been rnnner-up twice; and Vivian Samuel, of Britain. Tcrtnmiska has also gained a tird place in a world final. Most of the international ploughmen have previously competed in world competitions. However, there are some firsttimers, and for them it will be a time of not only international competition but adjusting to a foreign country, different soil, even different food and a little known language for some.

The full list of competitors is: Hermann Altmann (Austria), Johann Franz (Austria), . Stewart Badcock (Australia),. Gerald Badcock (Australia), Louis Van Ammel (Belgium), Anttfon Van Overbeke (Belgium), Jean Charles Marcil (Canada), Douglas Mar (Canada), Hardy Anderson (Denmark), Aage Secher (Denmark), Paavo Tommiska (Finland), Toivo Boelius (Finland), Lorenz Fischer (Germany), Hermann Kremer (Germany), Thomas Goodwin (Great Britain), Vivian Samuel (Great Britain), Cees De Ryke (Netherlands), Jan Bom (Netherlands), Gordon Baird (New Zealand), Robert Walker (New Zealand), Donald Wright (Northern Ireland), Desmond Wright (Northern Ireland), Simen Hulleberg (Norway), Odd Magnor Mellonstrand (Norway), John Somers (Ireland), John Tracey (Ireland), Robert M. Flanagan (Zimbabwe), Simon Faed (Zimbabwe), Arne Axelsson (Sweden), Jorgen Petterson (Sweden), Bernard Nietfeld (United States), J. Douglas Muir (United States), Amando Ramos (Spain), and Deograc i a s (Spain).