EQUINE
SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 | THE WELLINGTON ADVERTISER | 33
Russel Rogers with his Belgian draft horses Ginger, left, and Lily at Murray Grein’s farm in Grey County. Photo by Jaime Myslik
Mount Forest horse plowman to represent county at IPM BY JAIME MYSLIK
AYTON - A longtime tractor plowman switched to horse plowing in search of a friendlier and stress-free atmosphere. “I plowed with tractor and plow for a number of years,” said teamster (driver) Russel Rogers. “Like everyone else I was getting older and ... the class I was in was competitive and I wanted something a little less stressful and I’ve always loved horses and decided that the horsemen
looked like they were having more fun than I was - so that’s how I got started in the plowing.” The 82-year-old Mount Forest resident has now been plowing with horses for eight years. Before that he’d competitively plowed with a tractor for over 15 years. Rogers has now taken his involvement in the International Plowing Match (IPM) one step further: he is responsible for the horses and horse plowing at the 2016
IPM near Harriston next week. “There’s always a certain amount of pride and that’s why you wear (plowing match) hats and T-shirts,” he said. “This is the first time that I’ve ever been involved at this level, like to be in charge of the horses or anything. “I just went and plowed before.” The horses and mules will be stabled one kilometre south of the IPM’s tented city in a machine shed that has
been outfitted with box stalls for all 28 competitors and their teams. At other plowing matches Rogers said he remembers traveling about an hour to get from the barn to the plowing fields. However, even with the close proximity, trailers will take the horses to and from the site each day. Rogers will be the only competitor representing Wellington County in horse plowing. It will be his fifth plow-
ing match competition since his transition from tractor to horses. When he decided to make the switch in 2008 he didn’t even own a plow. “I went out and I bought a new pioneer plow in Ohio and I just started learning how to plow with horses,” he said. At the time he had two Haflinger horses that learned with him. “I had them until three years ago when we were in Ivy ... they were good to pull but
it was just getting too much for them and they were too good a team and I didn’t want to ... ‘break them,’ which means they go over and they won’t do anything ... so I sold them and bought a team of Percherons a year ago and they didn’t pan out.” About two months ago he bought a team of Belgian mares named Lily and Ginger. Luckily, harnessing horses wasn’t completely foreign to Rogers. CONTINUED > PAGE 35