Last
Wednesday I attended the 2013 National Ploughing Championships at Ratheniska,
Co. Laois. The last time The Ploughing Championships
were held in Laois it was 1943 and World War
Two was raging. Ireland was in a state
of emergency with a wide range of restrictions in place. Censorship and rationing prevailed. 6,000 people attended the event in 1943 a
stark contrast to the 228,000 who travelled to Ratheniska this year. I chose what turned out to be the busiest day
of the three day event to attend. Over
100,000 people descended on Ratheniska on Wednesday to attend the Glastonbury Festival
for farmers. This year’s event was set
on almost 800 acres: 200 acres of competitions, 150 acres of trade arenas and
400 acres of free car parking. There
were almost 1,400 exhibitors, exceeding all prior years. The prize fund was €18,000 with 340 entries
over 21 ploughing classes.
Plough lady handling two large horses.
I approached the site from Portlaoise and was lucky to be ushered to the green car park which was situated adjacent to the competition fields. I parked the car and in the space of two minutes I was watching the Vintage 2 Furrow Mounted Plough Class, in other words vintage horse ploughing. There is definitely an art to guiding two strong horses to plough a neat and precise furrow. I fell in love with a pair of white horses who seemed incredibly in tune with their handler. The handler wore a wide brimmed hat, long hair and a beard and seemed to whisper directions in the horses ears which they followed nodding obediently. The judges examined the furrows intensely looking for form, straightness, height and other qualities a furrow contains invisible to the naked eye.
Macra 2 Furrow Conventional Plough Class
The Farmerette Conventional Plough Class was
taking place nearby and this was my next port of call. I
chuckled when I spotted the East Cork contestant with the Cork GAA Flags flying
from her tractor. Even at a ploughing
competition the all-Ireland senior hurling final was foremost in her mind. I must admit as a spectator I didn’t find the tractor
ploughing half as entertaining as the horses.
East Cork Farmerette checks her tractor above and Sheepdog Trial below
The exhibition area beckoned. I
was not expecting to meet throngs of people milling about like ants. It was like Grafton Street on Christmas
Eve. It was overwhelming. I lasted about ten minutes fighting my way from exhibit to exhibit and after
consulting a map made my way out of the thronged tented town to watch the Sheep Dog
trials – Brace Competition. Sheep dogs
are so intelligent. The sheep were
herded through makeshift gateways, weaving up and down a large field. Some shepherds used whistles and some shouted
orders but I reckoned the dogs would have herded the sheep in an orderly fashion
without human intervention.
Participant in the Junior Hunt Chase above and a sheepdog trial below
I watched a
junior hunt chase and looked at various vintage displays. Screams emanated from a large amusement park
with people being hurled in the air by terrifying machines. There was something
for everybody at this event. Lely
Astronaut Robotic Milking Parlour Display proved popular. A sign read ‘COWS MANAGE THEIR OWN TIME’. Cows wandered in to the parlour one by one
when they felt like it and a robotic arm milked them automatically. When
the milking finished they wandered off to manage their own time. Fashion shows,
cookery demonstrations, sheep shearing, candle making, crafts the list is
endless. I have come to the conclusion that the place to be at The Ploughing Championships is out in the fields where the competitions are taking place.
Exhibition Area
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