A century of competitive plowing in Lambton County
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ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP – Lauren Elliott has set a record that may never be broken.
The Corunna-area resident won the 2017-18 Petrolia and Enniskillen Fall Fair Ambassador competition. Four years later, Elliott, now 24, still holds the title of Lambton County Queen of the Furrow.
“I’m the longest reigning one because of COVID,” she said Saturday with a chuckle. “Two years of no match.”
Saturday marked a century of organized competitive local plowing when the Lambton County Plowmen’s Association finally hosted a plowing match that had already been cancelled twice due to the pandemic. Kody Vandevenne, the association’s president, conceded it’s been a little strange not having a competition since 2019.
“Getting back into the rhythm of things is difficult,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the association and the committee members, I don’t know what we’d do.”
Tanin Degurse, 13, left, talks to dad Mark DeGurse, right, and Norm O'Neill during the Lambton County Plowmen's Association's 100th plowing match on Saturday in St. Clair Township. Terry Bridge/Sarnia Observer/Postmedia NetworkPhoto by Terry Bridge /Terry Bridge/The Observer
Steve Speller adjusts his equipment while competing in the Lambton County Plowmen's Association's 100th plowing match on Saturday in St. Clair Township. Terry Bridge/Sarnia Observer/Postmedia NetworkPhoto by Terry Bridge /Terry Bridge/The Observer
Eighteen-month-old Zachary Bruton checks out the action at the Lambton County Plowmen's Association's 100th plowing match on Saturday in St. Clair Township. Terry Bridge/Sarnia Observer/Postmedia NetworkPhoto by Terry Bridge /Terry Bridge/The Observer
Lauren Elliott, Lambton County Queen of the Furrow, checks out the action at the Lambton County Plowmen's Association's 100th plowing match on Saturday in St. Clair Township. Terry Bridge/Sarnia Observer/Postmedia NetworkPhoto by Terry Bridge /Terry Bridge/The Observer
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The 100th match was held on a scorching late morning and early afternoon at Wayne Bruton’s farm on Rokeby Line in St. Clair Township, about 20 minutes south of Sarnia. Participants competed in eight classes based on the age of their tractors and the style of their plows, ranging from horse-drawn antiques to modern technology.
There was a wide range in participants, too.
“We got plowers from all over Southwestern Ontario, some as far as Hagersville,” Vandevenne said. “We got some from Chatham-Kent, lots from Middlesex (County), but all different counties around.”
A trio of Ontario Plowmen’s Association-certified judges from Chatham-Kent and Middlesex County rated the results.
“There’s four categories on your scorecard: your open split, your crown, general plowing and your finish. And in every single one of those categories, straightness is a big one,” Vandevenne said, “and then it’s how we turn the soil – how we cover it.”
Each plot was about 15 metres wide and approximately 30 metres long, and was expected to take around three hours to complete.
In the meantime, Scott Menary and the Barnburners performed on a nearby stage from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. There was also food and various vendors, including the Lambton 4-H Association, the Grain Farmers of Ontario, a farm safety group, and a display detailing local history.
One of the earliest local plowing matches is believed to have been held about a century ago at the late John Goodison’s farm in what is now east Sarnia.
“It’s paved over,” association secretary Linda Bryson said.
The winners of the latest edition of the event will represent Lambton County at the 2023 and ’24 international events. A banquet and awards ceremony was slated for Saturday afternoon in Brigden.
This year’s International Plowing Match is slated for later this month in Kemptville, Ont., near Ottawa.
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