Golden Plough: a modern competition that harks back to yesteryear

It’s a modern competition with its roots in our farming past: Australia’s most prestigious horse ploughing championship, The Golden Plough, comes to Wongarbon this weekend.

The two-day annual competition — Saturday, April 22 and Sunday, April 23 — will see draft horse teams compete for the coveted Golden Plough Trophy.

Horse-drawn ploughing involves skilfully guiding one or two draught horses, pulling a single furrow plough, to create a straight plot of eight runs (minimum) which are judged on linear accuracy, depth, sharpness of cut, total width and how the soil is turned. Points are also heavily weighted towards the relationship between horse and competitor.

Blayney local and Golden Plough champion, Chris Chapman has been involved with draught horses for at least thirty years but became hooked on the competition side of things ever since attending his first Golden Plough in Darby Falls.

“I just went to watch, and I really liked the challenge of it. I thought there’s a great skill in this and I had to learn it,” Chris said.                                                          

The following year he returned as a competitor and came first in Novice, and third in the Golden Plough.

“That was something that I was really chuffed about, and from there I just kept going, which led me to win it six years in a row, which was no mean feat because it had never been done,” Chris said profoundly.

“Someone as young as I was at the time, ploughing against a lot of older ploughmen and quite accomplished ploughmen – I was over the moon!”

Work commitments meant Chris couldn’t prioritise his horsemanship as much as he would have liked,  but as he enters retirement he’s looking forward to giving it his all again.

So head along to Wongarbon this weekend and see Chris battle it out alongside the best plough handlers in the country. There will also be obstacle courses, wagon rides, horse-driven chaff cutter demonstrations and food stalls. Spectators are also encouraged to stick around for an evening of fireside stories and poetry over a delicious camp oven dinner with none other than legendary bush poet Murray Hartin. 

For further details go to:www.facebook.com/thegoldenplough or www.123tix.com.au/events/38544/the-golden-plough