Wednesday, 06 April 2016 07:55

NZ ploughing champs all set to go

Written by Tony Hopkinson

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World Ploughing Association chair Colin Millar.

Arrangements for the this year's 61st New Zealand Ploughing Championships are in place for the finals.

The finals will be held at Rongotea, Manawatu, on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 of April.

The organising committee, chaired by Paul Henson, has organised the stubble plots for the first day and the grassland plots for the next.

Currently there are 10 entrants in the conventional and five in the reversible divisions. The winners will qualify to represent New Zealand at the next World Championships in Kenya in December 2017.

Meanwhile there is an extra incentive for the seven entrants in the vintage ploughing division. The winner and runner-up will be invited to the 2016 World Championships in York, UK, on September 10 and 11.

"This is a first to invite vintage ploughs from around the world, but vintage ploughing has a lot of interest in UK and it represented a golden opportunity," World Ploughing Association chair Colin Millar told Rural News. "However, they will not be part of the World Championships."

In the horse ploughing division, sponsored by Rural News Group, there are six entries. These include Colin Drummond's six horse team and Erin Cassie's two horse team, both from Erewhon Station in Canterbury. All the ploughing work on Erewhon Station is done by working horses.

Two more horse entries come from Southland: John Cheynoweth with Sharon Chambers and Sean Leslie with Kaye Williams. The field is rounded out by Derek Thornton of Cambridge and last year's winner Fred Pilling of Te Kowhai, Hamilton.

Two other horse entries will plough, but not in the competition, as they are new ploughmen.

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