5 Best Furrows In Ploughing History
WITH the 2016 Ploughing Championships just about to get underway in Tullamore, Offaly is about to be awash with thousands of agricultural experts who expect to see nothing less than the absolute peak of ploughing ability; Man and machine coming together to carve up the straightest, neatest, sexiest furrows the earth has ever seen.
But this year’s contenders will be hard pushed to top the following furrows, arguably the greatest drills ever seen in the history of ploughing worldwide. Behold!
1) Conor Cannahan, National Ploughing Championship 1998
The only Irishman to make the list, Cannahan stunned the ploughing championship of ’98 with this incredible furrow, cementing his place in the ploughing hall of fame. Nothing like it has been seen, before or since. To this day, judges will look at a furrow and say it’s good, but it’s no Cannahan.
2) Gunter Juhausen, European Ploughing Championship 2002
Although the 2002 European Ploughing Championship in Austria will forever be remembered for the tragic events at that year’s Wavin stand, the immaculate furrow created by the plough of German ploughing mastermind Gunter Juhansen. Hard to believe that Juhaunsen was just 16 at the time!
3) Hank McHankerton, US Ploughing Open, 2007
The US Ploughing Open has always been the event that puts the ‘wow’ in ‘pl-wow-ing’, but the 2007 classic was something else. Boiling down to a plough-off between home favourite Hank McHankerton and his hated Russian rival Ivan Gratchko, it took this mesmerisingly beautiful furrow by McHankerton to seal victory for the Yanks.
4) Takimoto Habiyushi, Plouging World Cup, 2008
The big dance; the Ploughing World Cup. Oslo, 2008. Habiyushi vs. Norobotokati, last furrow, dead level. A sudden rainstorm, a change in conditions; Norobotokati veers to the left in the mud, Habiyushi maintains perfect focus and remains straight. You just don’t get better ploughing than that.
5) M’butu N’yonto, African Ploughing League Of Nations, 2012
The APLN is always great craic, with crowds of up to a half a million attending each yearly event. But even the most ardent of ploughing fans didn’t expect M’butu N’yonto’s stunningly straight drills which won him the tournament, the hearts of the continent, a new tractor, and a chance to represent his country in that year’s ‘invitation only’ high-stakes professional ploughing tournament in Las Vegas. G’wan the N’yonto!