ON a damp and overcast morning of Tuesday, September 9, Witheridge and District Ploughing and Agricultural Group held its Annual Ploughing Match at Overland Farm, by kind permission of the Cole family.

Entries were down slightly on last year but a high standard of ploughing was achieved by the participants with seven different classes being run on the day. Class winners were: 1 Semi Digger - Bill Tonkin, 2 Under 28 - no entries, 3 Three or more furrows - Michael Tizzard, 4 Reversible - Sam Reed, 5 Classic - Michael Hayball, 6 Trailer - Peter Stone, 7 Vintage Hydraulic - David Franklin, 8 Ferguson - John Hitching.

Champion plot of the day went to David Franklin retaining the title he won last year.

Best ploughing with a Ford tractor – Peter Stone. Best local ploughing – Raymond Govier.

Best Local Reversible – Jason Kneller. Best local with three or more furrows – Jason Kneller.

New Trophies for this year were for best turned out combinations were: Restored or new – Colin Stacey for his John Deere and trailer plough and also Original – Jason Kneller for his John Deere 3050 and reversible plough.

A large entry in farm produce classes saw Michael Pincombe pick up the cups for most points in the cereals and most points overall and Paul Gillbard winning the best exhibit.

In the children’s classes a smaller entry saw Billy Cleverton-Brend winning most points with Winnie Cleverton-Brend and Matilda Vickery sharing runners up spot.

A large entry in the home produce classes saw Joyce Rowcliffe win the cup for most points in the domestic classes and Tim Blake with most points in flowers and vegetables and the overall points cup going to Joyce Rowcliffe.

The final cup for the Young Farmer with the most points went to Isabel Govier.

Nigel Pincombe