PLOUGHMEN'S prayers were answered in the New Forest at the weekend thanks to just enough rain to put the fields in near-perfect condition.

The annual ploughing match run by the Lymington Growmore Club, South Avon and Stour Agricultural Society and the Brockenhurst, Avon Valley and Beaulieu Young Farmers' Clubs had been given some of Hampshire's prime agricultural land for its venue.

It was allocated the productive arable fields of Park Farm at St Leonard's, between Beaulieu and Lymington, farmed by the Rolf family on Lord Montagu's Beaulieu Estate - and farmer Arthur Rolf showed just how well he tills his land by becoming reserve champion of the day.

Overall champion was Stuart Slocombe from Beaulieu, who works for agricultural contractor W E Nicolls of East Boldre.

But in the run-up to the big event, there were fears that the ground would be just too hard for the men to get the best out of their ploughs after the long, hot summer.

Last week's rain came just in time, however, and organiser Linda Humby said: "We've been praying for rain and we had that rain in the week.

"It's not good if the ground is too hard, particularly for the vintage tractors which use trailer ploughs. It still requires a lot of skill, but they have managed to keep their ploughs in the ground," she said.

The event was given a boost this year by part-sponsorship from Wightlink for the Isle of Wight contingent of nine tractors and ploughs which had just a slow trip from Lymington to the Park Farm venue.

Tractors ranged from some of the grand old Fordson, David Brown and Massey Ferguson vintage machines dating right back to 1938 to some of the most modern powerhouses with their plug-in ploughing attachments.

WINNERS:

Tractor-mounted ploughs, Stuart Slocombe (Beaulieu); young farmers' tractor-mounted ploughs, John Nicholls (Beaulieu); one-way ploughs, Mark Shutler (Bransgore); horse ploughing and best turned-out team of horses, John McDermott (Ringwood); open, Malcolm Selby (Wimborne); vintage/mounted plough, Frank Colborne; vintage/trailer plough, Ian Cradock (Wiltshire); best-maintained tractor and plough under 10 years old, Arthur Rolf; best maintained tractor and plough over 10 years old, Geoff Carter (Bransgore); Massey Ferguson Trophy, Peter Nicolls (Beaulieu); John Deere Trophy, Mark Shutler; Ford and Ransome Trophies, Ian Cradock.