Junior plowing champ sticks to the straight and narrow
Brows get furrowed, too, when Ben Henderson begins to plow.
That’s because the junior International Plowing Match champ from the Roseville Road edge of Cambridge has a tangerinecoloured tractor.
“I stick out like a sore thumb,” said Henderson, who rode his 1966 Allis Chalmers D17 tractor at last week’s event in Pain Court, in Chatham-Kent.
“I’m the bright orange one.” Henderson, 20, is a pretty bright kid, too, beyond his ability to pull off a pristine opening split or make a perfect crown prior to the big path-down-the-middle finish.
The North Dumfries Plowmen’s Association member just got his diploma from a two-year agriculture program at the University of Guelph, Ridgetown Campus. He could choose to attend Olds College in Alberta.
Henderson earned a full year’s scholarship at the agricultural-focused school for taking the junior title at the Canadian Plowing Championships in New Brunswick last month.
“At the Canadians, anyway, I was the one and only Allis Chalmers that’s ever been there,” he said of his plowing chariot. “I’m kind of one of a kind, I guess.” For now, Henderson is working at the family dairy farm, which is milking just fewer than 50 jerseys. They grow silage corn, hay and a little bit of wheat — just for the straw, really.
So how did Henderson, who has been competing in plowing matches for five or six years, get into plowing?
“Mark Brodhaecker got me into it,” he said, referring to the former Canadian and international plowing champ, and past worlds competitor, who lives nearby.
“He’s one of my neighbours, actually. Just about a road over. He’s been into plowing for years.”
Brodhaecker’s son Austin, a 12-year-old from Ayr, finished second to Henderson in Pain Court in the junior match competition. Henderson was also the two-furrow plow champ for his group and junior champion tractor plowperson.
Plowing is judged on the quality of the furrow. Straightness, uniformity, distinctness and neatness are the keys to a high score.
At 20, with the 52-year-old restored tractor and a plow he got from the Fried family of well-known plowers, his junior days are behind him.
Open competition, and fall events, lie ahead for his till-tale heart.
“Now, it’s pretty much just preserving the art of plowing,” he said. “There’s still a few people around that plow, but it’s not really around that much any more.”