The Mendip Ploughing Society held their annual ploughing match last week, on land near Green Ore by kind permission of local farmers, Bob King and Geoff Bown. Ploughmen came from across the country, Isle of Wight, Hereford, Devon and Surrey.

This match includes not only ploughing with tractors and horses, but also both hedge laying in the North Somerset style and dry stone walling. This match, being held in the autumn, also offers an opportunity to show off the quality of the crops grown during the year of specimen roots, grain and fodder. From these four sections the champions are then judged to decide the champion of champions.

Colin Clutterbuck, of Stanton Drew, was awarded the hedging championship and then the title of Mendip Champion of Champions. Having also won the North Somerset Agricultural Society Champion of Champions title earlier in September, he said: “I have never won two Champion of Champions trophies in the same season before. It hasn’t been a bad month of competitions!”

Lever Feeds perpetual cup, awarded for the most points in the grain classes, was awarded to Stuart Tibbs, of Paulton. Tibbs was also ploughing, being placed second in the T20 Ferguson class.

Other trophy winners were: Chris Chivers, from Midsomer Norton, awarded the Blagdon, Charterhouse and West Mendip Ploughing Society 1934 cup for the winner of the open hedging. The Ken Osborne Memorial Trophy awarded in class 3, conventional plough using a 4 furrow plough, was won by Mike Brockway, of Coleford. Jon Branch, of Hallatrow, won the trophy for the novice conventional plough class, the shield for a member of the Young Farmers’ Club.

Ploughmen who were placed in their classes, but not trophy winners, included Leslie Gallop, of Mells and Andy Gallop, of Frome, placed second and third in the open reversible class. Gary Haberfield, of Farrington Gurney, competing in the High Cut class for only the second time, won a second prize. The organisers split the novice conventional class and Christopher Harper, of Hallatrow, was placed second in the 3, 4 or 5 furrow section.

Chris Claxton, of Chilcompton, was placed second in the open hedging class and Barry Herbert, of Farrington Gurney, was placed fourth in the open stone walling.

As part of this traditional day, four steam engines were on show. Two belonged to Alan Sparkes, of Stanton Drew, president of the Mendip Ploughing Society. Andrew Melrose, of Oakhill, had his Fowler Steam ploughing machine made in 1870. Matt King, of Green Ore, had his newly-purchased Jack of Herts steam engine.