Skip to content

PHOTOS: Folks applaud as farmer, 95, plows again at 101st Chilliwack Plowing Match

Wild weather and memorable moments at annual historic plowing competition in Chilliwack

Sun, hail and rain came down on the 101st annual Chilliwack Plowing Match at Greendale Acres on Saturday.

There were 19 people who competed in the historic farming competition on April 1, including five in the conventional plow class, two in the reversible, five in the antique/open class, three teams of horses, and four in the mayor class.

The public got to try their hand at plowing this year, which was one of the new features along with a beer garden.

But one of the most memorable moments of the day was when a 95-year-old Chilliwack farmer got behind a team of horses for the first time in years to plow a small portion of one of the competitor’s rows.

On Saturday, Dave Reid of Chilliwack used his walker and rolled it across the bumpy earth to get to Dennis Ryan’s plowing plot. He stepped into the furrow, stood behind the two white workhorses and was helped by Ryan as the reins were put over his head.

Reid grabbed the handles of the plow and started walking.

People applauded as he plowed part of one of the last rows of Ryan’s plot.

“Didn’t think I could do it, did ya?” he said walking away from the plow with a smile.

Reid competed in his first Chilliwack Plowing Match when he was 11 years old in 1939. He competed for years, took a break, and then got back into it in the 1980s.

Over the years, he was in 38 plowing competitions and won 37, he added proudly.

PHOTOS: Turning the sod on the 100th annual Chilliwack Plowing Match


 

Do you have something else we should report on?
Email: jenna.hauck@theprogress.com
Twitter: @PhotoJennalism

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.



Jenna Hauck

About the Author: Jenna Hauck

I started my career at The Chilliwack Progress in 2000 as a photojournalist.
Read more