A truly traditional event in Herefordshire for the last 75 years: the ploughing competition. If you have yet to go to one, do! They are a delight. Derek Evans thought so too, capturing an event so central to farming, yet so rarely seen at close hand by many of us not involved with agriculture. For these ploughman and plough women, this isn’t just about creating a furrow in the gorgeous, fertile soil we have in the county, it’s the art, the precision, the skill, the experience, and the dedication to a practise that is all too common, but rarely appreciated by a modern audience distanced to the practices of the farmer.
We should be grateful that we have two active societies in the county that keep the tradition of ploughing competitions alive: Trumpet & District Agriculture Society and Llanwarne & District Agriculture Society, whose annual matches take place in September and October. There, witness the power of the horse teams, alongside tractors of varying vintage. And it’s not just ploughing, there are classes for fruit, flowers and handicrafts. The bounty from the local harvest is a sight to be seen, and Derek Evans never failed to spot an opportunity. It’s likely it’s a scene relatively unchanged in the years since a young Derek was taking these photos. In one of his atmospheric photos he captures legendary ploughman Horace Samuel, in an image of almost iconic quality. In thisploughing match in October 1958, Horace is the only entrant in the horse ploughing class of the Llanwarne and District Agricultural Society match at Hoarwithy. It adds to the pathos of the photo, capturing the man and the moment.
Why not come and see this photograph and many more from the archive in our multi venue exhibition. This image will be on show at The Courtyard, Hereford. Feb 20th -March 21st