Tickets, bags, tractor, plough...
Most couples heading off for a weekend away might be looking for romance but the Taylors from Waikato in New Zealand’s North Island had something else in mind.
When they packed their bags for a South Island trip in early April 2008, Angela and Malcolm Taylor each brought some unusual luggage - a tractor and a plough. They both qualified for New Zealand’s national ploughing competitions in Greytown on the West coast of the South Island. Although Malcolm is an experienced ploughman and has competed before, Angela was a novice having qualified for the Atlantic Silver Plough competition at the end of last year.
''We had the tractor and everything, and Malcolm has got the knowledge. I had been following him around while he competed, so I thought I would have a go for fun,'' says Angela.
The Taylors sold their 600-cow dairy herd last year to look for a quieter life, but still farm 450 acres at Arapuni in Waikato region of the North Island where they graze dairy heifers and produce a small amount of maize.
''I was used to doing things on the farm with the tractor, anyway, but this was a different thing learning the details of how to plough, there is a lot to it,'' says Angela.
And it wasn’t any old tractor that Mrs Taylor took to the finals - a local company, Power Farming Ltd, provided her with her own, brand new model to compete on - thanks to a challenge from her husband.
''I said to them, if Angela qualifies you will have to give us a new tractor.'' Mr Taylor said. ''They’ve given us a new McCormack tractor to use for six weeks.''
Mrs Taylor has found getting used to the new tractor a challenge and says there were several things she would have to master.
''It is very interesting and very challenging; it is you, the tractor and the plough. To an outsider it looks easy but it's not,'' she said.
The Taylors joined five other Waikato competitors who made the 2008 New Zealand finals held on 5-6 April. The event included conventional and reversible ploughing as well as vintage and horse-drawn classes.
Background
Running since 1978, the New Zealand Ploughing Championships are an annual event. Twenty-three qualifying events are held each year, with the final being held in April or May. The winner of the ‘conventional ploughing’ and the winner of the ‘reversible ploughing’ sections go on to compete in the World Ploughing Championship. The world championships are held in any one of thirty countries affiliated to the World Ploughing Organization.
These topics may also be of interest to you
|
