How the Cruckton Ploughing Society has been given royal approval
It started off as a result of two local farmers having a bet as to who could plough the straightest furrow.
I wonder if, back then, either would have wagered that they would be laying the foundations for a historic group - Cruckton & District Ploughing & Hedging Society - which is, some 97 years later, still going strong.
So strong, in fact that the group's remarkable team of volunteers have just celebrated a particularly special honour - receiving the Kings Award for Voluntary Service 2024.
They were one of 281 groups to be named as recipients of a Kings Award this month and one of eight in Shropshire, alongside Oswestry Borderland Tourism Ltd (Visit Oswestry), Shrewsbury & Oswestry Crucial Crew, Shrewsbury Up & Comers FC, Shropshire Beekeepers Association, Sustainable Newport, Telford & Wrekin Interfaith Council and The Albrighton Trust.
"We are over the moon," said Karen Pritchard, Secretary of the Cruckton & District Ploughing Society, as she reflects on the special award.
"We had the email acknowledgement come through in October and had to be all hush hush. We held a meeting with all of the committee, the night before the announcement was made nationally.
"Everyone was just so overwhelmed. I don't think it has really sunk in for a lot of us.
"It is such a great achievement and an honour to be selected. The beauty of this is that it's an award for everybody, you can't pin it on one person.
"It's not just reward for the current committee and others involved in the match now but also those many members who have been involved with the Society and the ploughing match in the past.
"The amount of people who have been involved in it over many years, as you could imagine, is phenomenal.
"To think it started with just two farmers in a pub in the 1920s, such small origins, but has grown and evolved to what it is today is incredible really."
A registered charity run by volunteers, who all work unpaid, the Society encourages and promotes competitions, demonstrations and social events relating to ploughing, hedging and farm management.
And its origins lie in that first Cruckton Ploughing Match, which took place in 1927.
The Society had only been formed that year as a result of the previously mentioned wager which took place in the Hare & Hounds public house at Cruckton, where the society continued to hold their meetings for many years.
The prizes for first, second and third, at the time, were £5, £3 and £2. Wages at that time were the equivalent of £1.50 for a 56 hour week.
Tractor ploughing classes were introduced for the first time in 1939.
Within a few years the number of these grew rapidly overtaking the number of horse ploughing classes, but Cruckton retained the honour of staging the British Isles Championships for Horse Ploughing.
After an enforced break during World War Two, Cruckton once again became a major fixture in the farming calendar.
The only other times the Society was unable to hold a match were in 1967 due to a Foot and Mouth outbreak in the county and in 2020 due to the Covid outbreak.
Hedge laying competitions and Sheepdog Trials have also been a regular sight at many matches.
"The committee now are just carrying on the legacy and it's something that does just seems to go from strength to strength really," reflects Karen.
"In the early year, it was basic - a ploughing match where farmers would go and compete and it was just that.
"But over the last few years, it's become something for the whole family and that's something we are really proud of.
"We have moved with the times, keeping people interested and we have some great trade and smaller stands."
"It remains a rural, country affair and we have fantastic input from people. The messages are always great after the event with people saying what a fabulous day out it is.
"It's a great atmosphere, particularly when the weather is nice. When the sun is out, we have people there until 8-9pm at night and it's always worth the hard work that the volunteers put in."
The committee already has its sights on next year's event when the Kings Award will be presented.
Two lucky members of the Society will also get to visit Buckingham Palace and attend a garden party.
While it was a detailed process to go through to achieve the Award, the news received in November makes it all worth while, Karen adds.
"We put a lot of hard work in after being nominated and I wanted to cry with joy when we found out we had been successful," she said.
"We thought at the time, if we didn't go for it we would never know. Unless you have to try things, it's impossible to achieve your hopes and dreams.
"So we are thrilled we tried now and look forward to welcoming our visitors to present the award at our match next summer.
"We are already excited by the next ploughing match. We will start planning the next event in January, coming up with some new things to bring in and make it even more special in 2025."
