The retired Taieri dairy farmer was on hand yet again yesterday, manning the gate at the Mosgiel event as ploughmen from Lincoln to Tuatapere once again fussed over the finer points of the sport - the evenness and depth of furrow, the tidiness of their entry and exit, and ensuring all the rubbish was buried.
Yesterday marked the 150th time a ploughing match had been held on the Taieri.
Early events were hosted by a number of bodies until the 1948 formation of the Taieri Ploughing Match Association.
Mr Jury competed in his first match behind a horse-drawn plough in 1938 when he was 15 and finally parked up his plough when he turned 60.
Mr Jury turns 87 next month and said he could not remember missing a match.
"It's what you grow up with; it's the sport you take on," he said.
Initially, ploughing was an important part of farming, but later it became a hobby, he said.
Association president Allan Free said 33 ploughmen competed yesterday, including three horse-drawn teams.
Equipment used included eight vintage tractors, with the rest using conventional equipment to compete for a place in next year's New Zealand final.
• Results.-
Qualifying class (winner to represent Taieri at next national ploughing final): Hayden Allison 60.38% 1, Mark Ramsey 55.19% 2, Adam Mehrtens 45.19% 3. Open class: Scott McKenzie 70.57% 1, Bob Mehrtens 68.27% 2, Murray Baird 59.64% 3. Vintage class: Alistair Rutherford 189 pts 1, Ewan Davis 155 2, John Goldsworthy 151 3. Horse class: Snow Cleaver 169 1, David Murdoch 161 2, Lou Harrison 79 3. Commercial class: Justin Flett 1, John Miller 2.
Champion ploughman: Scott McKenzie.
