DUFFERIN COUNTY, Ontario - What better way to wrap up a once-in-a-generation event than with a celebratory evening—and that is exactly what will happen when the International Plowing Match and Rural Expo (IPM) winds down next week in Dufferin County.
The Celebration of Excellence is an always well-attended, ticketed evening event where the top-plowmen are announced, an exciting finale after a week of competition.
“There is so much for visitors to see and do at an IPM, but for the competitive plowmen this is serious business,” says Floyd Wills, president of the Ontario Plowmen’s Association (OPA), the parent host of the IPM.
At stake is the chance to compete at the nationals next year in Wolfe Island, Kingston, Ontario. The toppoints plowmen from each the senior plowing championship with conventional plows, the senior plowing championship with reversible plows and the junior plowing championship with conventional plows will advance to the 2024 Canadian Plowing Championships.
For Maranda Klaver, the current Ontario Queen of the Furrow, the night is going to be bittersweet as she passes on the crown to her successor, who will be chosen that evening from amongst the 13 competitors in this year’s competition.