The International Plowing Match...
On
Saturday, Tiffany, Caitlin, Angus & I went to the International Plowing
Match. Cait’s friends, Courtney & Heidi, were competing with Jock &
Tucker, two of The Big Boys that she loves so much.
So we went
to see them – and all the other draft horses there. Jock & Tucker are show
horses, and looked so handsome & fancy, but there were also teams of work
horses of mixed breed, and quite plain. Both kinds are the old faithful that
helped turn the land from forest to farms, fields to crops.
When you
watch the contestants wrestle the plow, and coax their horses to a straight
furrow, you can’t help but think about how things used to be. Feeding the
nation was an arduous task, taking all of your strength and stamina, with no
guarantee of success.
It’s not
so physical today, but the risks are still the same. But today you have
tractors that go exactly where you point them, don’t get tired, moody, or lame.
When you
watch these plowmen working with their horses, you are reminded how valuable a
good horse was to your life, back in the day. Now the plowing match is a
novelty, but back when your life depended on it, there was great effort put
into training your horses, and keeping them healthy & strong. The plowman
was practiced, and took pride in the furrows he and his team could create. It
all went toward growing a better crop, for a better return, for a better life
for his family.
It’s good
to be reminded of the old ways…to see again the link between work and life. In
the clutter of 21st century gadgets, activities, luxuries, it’s easy
to forget the fundamentals, and get too caught up in things that are trivial
and peripheral.
A man, his
team, his hands and the land…and an expectation of making a better life.
That’s the
American Dream.
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