Vintage Ploughing Match - Horsepower of the Horsey Type

Advertised in one of the local pubs for the 16th October was a Vintage Ploughing Match taking place in the nearby village of Trysull. So, come the 16th, with the unseasonably warm weather and bright skies, a friend and I decided to pop along with the cameras for an hour. By the time we got there virtually all of the tractors had finished, but fortunately the working horses were still hard at it.

Im afraid I don't know one type of horse from another so I'll leave you to decide if they are Shires, Clydesdales or Suffolk Punches.

From chatting with some of the spectators and a couple of the competitors I was told that part of the skill of ploughing with horses is to keep them walking. Apparently it is a lot easier for the horses to trot but it makes the plough almost impossible to control.

This pair definately preferred the idea of a trot.

I was also surprised how patiently the horses would wait while taking a break, some of the pairs just stood quietly on their own.

A few more mixed photos