Co Down ploughman David’s top of the class after Six Nations Ploughing Championships win in Scotland

David, from Co Down, took home the reserve champion of the field and was the winner of Vintage Trail class on a McCormick-Deering W4 with a Ransomes plough.

Our Northern Ireland ploughmen joined 16 of the finest from across the UK and Ireland in Fife - to pit their exceptional skills against one another.

Traditionally, the Six Nations Ploughing Championships consists of competitors from Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, and the Isle of Man.

This year there were six competitors from Scotland, five from England, three from Northern Ireland and two from Ireland - but there were no representatives this time from Wales or the Isle of Man.

Overall champion was Vintage Mounted Class winner Alan Simms, from Co Donegal who won this title with 208 points in plot 2 on a Massey Ferguson 35 with a Ransomes plough.

The championships began with a practice day on Saturday, July 27, before the match day kicked off on Sunday, July 28.

Each competitor had four hours to plough their own plot of about 9,150sq ft. Conditions were hard and dry due to a recent upturn in weather in the area, which posed its own issues for the judges.

These included Charlie Halliday, who was judging on behalf of the society of ploughmen from England, and Gordon Beattie, of Forfar, who is currently vice-chairman of the Scottish Ploughing Championships. They were joined by local ploughman Willie Grieve Snr, of St Andrews.

The overall judge, who chose best plot in the field, was multiple world ploughing champion Andrew Mitchell, of Forfar.

Making sure everyone stuck to the rules were the three stewards, led by ex-SPC chairman Willie Grieve Jr . He was head steward, working alongside Harry Lindsay, of Laurencekirk, and Colin Crawford, of Linlithgow.

The competition was organised and hosted by the fledgling TayForth Ploughers League, which raises money to help ploughers with the cost of travelling to international events. In the short period of time the league has been operating, it has raised nearly £4,000.

The competition took place at Peacehill Farm, Fife, Scotland by the permission of the Forster family.

Results

• Vintage Mounted: 1 Alan Simms, Ireland; 2 Alex Evans, England; 3 Ron Phillips, Scotland
• Vintage Trailing: 1 David Grattan, Northern Ireland; 2 Brian Shaw, England; 3 George Melville, Scotland
• Classic: 1 Ray Alderson, England; 2 Antony Boldan, England; 3 Euan Anderson, Scotland
• Overall Winner: Alan Simms
• Reserve Overall: David Grattan

Helen Coulter is the assistant secretary of the Northern Ireland Vintage Ploughing Association