Britain’s top ploughmen and women were treated to some good ground to show off their skills at the 71^st British National Ploughing Championships on the Chatsworth Estate on land at Glapwell.

A heavy downpour during the week softened the ground and more rain the day before made conditions good for almost 250 local champions from all over the country.  The sun then shone for the weekend, so competitors had near-perfect conditions to show off their skills in the various categories of ploughing.

The Reversible Plough-Off Final was won by Mick Chappell, of Loversall, near Doncaster, ploughed with a Ford tractor and Kverneland plough.  This was the third time Mick has won the title and he finished with 330 points, ahead of two former British champions – Ian Brewer, of Wadebridge, Cornwall, and Peter Alderslade, of East Boldan, Tyne & Wear.

The winner of the British Conventional title was James Witty, of East Lutton, near Malton.  James also used a Ford/Kverneland combination and also beat two past British Champions with 270 points.  Evan Watkin, of Newtown, Powys was second with 263 points and Nigel Vickers, of Sarn, Malpas, was third.  This was the first time that James has won the Conventional title, although he has won the Reversible title twice before and is a past World Reversible Champion.

Mick and James have now qualified to represent England in the 2023 World Ploughing Contest, which will be held in Latvia.

In the vintage ploughing finals, the Vintage Trailing Championship was won by John Crowder, of Sturton by Stow.  John retained the title from last year and is the current European Vintage Ploughing Champion.  Using a Fordson N tractor and a Ransome RSLD plough, he scored 261 points, beating Trevor Johnstone, of Wigton, Cumbria into second place with a 15-point lead.  Two points behind Trevor was a previous World and European Vintage Champion, John Milnes, of Penistone, South Yorkshire.

The Vintage Hydraulic Plough-Off Final winner was Richard Ingram, of Atherstone, Warwickshire, who finished well ahead of the competition with a 23 point lead.  Since the Vintage Hydraulic Plough-Off Final was brought in five years ago, this was the fourth time Richard had won it, gaining 267 points with his Massey Ferguson 35 and Ransome TS54 plough.

The Classic Championship title was won for the third time in a row by David Thomlinson, of Escrick, near York, who, ploughing with his Ford 3000 tractor and Ransome TS86 plough, was in front of Jon Cole, of Ross-on-Wye by two points.  David scored 266 points, Jon 264 points and another two points behind with 262 points was Nick Morely, of Lowdham.

New this year was the Classic Reversible Plough-Off Final which was won by Graham Sutton, of Nuneaton.  Graham ploughed with a Massey Ferguson 65 tractor and a Ransome TS82 plough and won with 303 points, a seven-point lead over Stephen Watkins, of Maltby, and a 30-point lead from his son, George.

The Overall Vintage Champion, judged independently, was John Crowder and all of the vintage winners have qualified to plough in the 2023 European Vintage Ploughing Championships in the Netherlands.

The other main titles over the weekend were the Overall Horse Ploughing Champion, won by Martink Kerswell, of Fordingbridge; the Overall Young Farmers Champion which was taken by Stuart Vickers, of Malpas, and the High Cut Ploughing Champion, won by Derek Needham, of Kings Lynn.  The Supreme Championship title was judged independently from all the title winners and was won by James Witty.  All the trophies on the second day were presented by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.

Mark Turner, chairman of the Society of Ploughmen, who organised the championships, said: “We were given a fantastic site on the Chatsworth Estate this year and we were delighted that our hosts, the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, could join us for the presentation.  It made it very special for the prize winners this weekend.”

Main sponsors of the event were Firestone, Aztec Oils and Continental Tyres and further support was given by Lantra, Homefire, AR Demolotion, Cheffins, Tama UK, Dalton Tags, Ripon Farm Services, HME, Russells and Dales Agri Sales Agency.  Full results can be found on www.ploughmen.co.uk

TOP: James Witty, 2022 Supreme Champion, was presented with his trophy by the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Photo courtesy of Paul Gregory.