Fifty-four ploughing champions from thirteen different countries took part in the 2025 European Ploughing Championships when England hosted the event, held at Upper Morton, near Retford, Nottinghamshire on 1-2 March.
The event was held by kind permission of Joseph Camm Farming Ltd and incorporated both the European Reversible Ploughing Championships and the European Vintage Ploughing Championships. For two days, the sun shone for the ploughmen taking part, as they showed off their skills to interested spectators.
The European Reversible title was taken by Dan Donnelly from the Republic of Ireland, who won the title for the third time with 433.5 points. He was ploughing with a John Deere tractor and Kverneland plough and had just a two point lead on his team mate, four times World Champion, John Whelan. Scotland’s James Tait was in third place with 385.5 points.
England almost swept the board in the European Vintage Championships, winning four out of five sections. The Vintage Trailed Championship was won by England’s John Crowder from Lincolnshire with 387 points, ploughing with his 1944 Fordson N tractor and 1945 Ransome plough; the Vintage Mounted Championship was won with 405.5 points, by Richard Ingram from Warwickshire with his Massey Ferguson 35 and Ransome TS54 plough. Richard also won the overall vintage trophy.
The Classic Championship was won by Herefordshire’s Jon Cole with 396 points, ploughing with a 1966 Nuffield 10/42 and Ransome TS86 plough; and the Classic Reversible Championship title was won by a whisker by Stephen Watkins from South Yorkshire, with his Massey Ferguson 135 and Ransome TS82 plough with 219 points. Stephen initially shared first place with his team-mate, Graham Sutton from Warwickshire but with a ‘countback’ system used when there is a tie, it meant that Stephen took the title by having gained more points in the aspect for general appearance. The Vintage Reversible Championship was won by Marius Jenniskens from the Netherlands, ploughing with a 1959 Deutz D30S and Rumpstaad plough.
Alongside the competitions were trade stands, demonstrations of horse ploughing, vintage high-cut tractor ploughing and horticultural ploughing, all including the present British Champions. A demonstration of steam ploughing engines was also on show.
The next big event in the UK’s ploughing calendar will be the British National Ploughing Championships which will be held on 11-12 October on land near Allesley, Coventry in the West Midlands. A superb site has been provided by the Brandreth Family and the Sir Thomas White Trust, covering upwards of 100 hectares (250 acres) and the organisers expect around 250 champion ploughmen and women taking part over the two days from all over the country, including around 15 pairs of heavy horses. There will also be trade stands, shopping stalls, machinery demonstrations, displays of vintage tractors and equipment and steam ploughing engines.
©Paul Gregory
©Paul Gregory
©Paul Gregory
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