Ellis Davies [ED] of Betlands Farm, Llanddeiw, Gower, interviewed at the 2022 Gower Ploughing Match, discussing the history of plouging and competative ploughing, his competative ploughing experiences, his hopes for the future of local ploughing competitions. ED recounts his lifelong connection to Gower farming, the history and evolution of ploughing, and his own 50-year competitive ploughing career. He describes family traditions, major wins including Welsh, British, and Irish titles, and reflects on the decline of ploughing matches while hoping the tradition continues.
Transcription
ED: My name is Ellis Davies, a Gower man, lived in Gower all my life, been steeped in agriculture, goes back generations as far back as we can go, we were farmers. 
Ploughing which has been with us since biblical times.  It is mentioned in many of the books of the Bible, done of course in those days with just a stick, dragged by a person through the ground to make a little groove and the seeds were put in.  And it didn't change much down the centuries till about the 17th century, when the invention of steel and that's when the plough share was invented and the mould board which followed the share to turn the sod over came into being and then wider, deeper furrows could be ploughed and which would produce most soil, most tilth and therefore better crops could be grown. 
Ploughing competitions came into being in about the 1780s and this is fairly common throughout the British Isles.  Oxen originally and by about 1820 it had changed to horse.  The horse was more efficient, stronger animal and two horses could pull a wide deep furrow whereas the oxen would do a couple of turns and then they'd have to stop and have a have a rest.  Horses remained the source of power in ploughing matches as they did on farms up until about the 1920s / 1930s when the tractor was introduced.  The tractor then took over quietly.  Horse numbers dwindled and the tractors came more to the fore as they were used more commonly on farms. 
My family, grandfather, great uncles, father, brother all ploughed with horses but I was the first generation of my family to plough with a tractor.  I was that bit younger and the tractors were coming to the fore so I took to the tractor. 
I started competitive ploughing at the age of 13 and I ploughed on and off for 50 years.  I enjoyed my ploughing very very much as I still enjoy ploughing matches today, to go and watch. 
I was second prize the first time I went out, out of five and the second time I went out, I had a first prize and that inspired me then to go further.  I won in Gower and then The Welsh National and English National and the world's events came into being in the 50s.  When motor transport was available and you could travel further distances, spread your wings and plough against other competitors from different parts of the country.  I became Welsh champion at the age of 27, I followed that the following year at 28  and then I stopped ploughing for 11 years because my father had retired and my brother and I took over the farm and it wasn't easy then looking for money and so I didn't plough then 11 years.  I then came back into it and I became Welsh champion again straight off, so that was a big honour in my life really. And then the following year I became British champion.  But I will honestly say the pinnacle of my ploughing career came towards the end of my ploughing career in 2004 when I went to Ireland and the World Championships were there but they put in an invitation class for the style, I never ploughed world style, I plough edwhat is known as high cut, equilateral triangles, as is shown in the books.  Which is exhibition ploughing.  It was formally done in the days when sowing was done by hand and the seed would fall on those triangles into the bottom, a brush of the harrow and then the corn came up in those drills.  That style is still done to this day, there were four in Cowbridge only the day before yesterday. 
What else did I want to say, so I went to Ireland and I ploughed purely against Irish ploughman and I won on the Thursday and that entitled me to plough again on the Saturday. And I won again on the Saturday. So I had the double in Ireland in 2004 and that was just about the end of my ploughing career. So that was a wonderful omen to finish on really, yeah. 
I hope ploughing matches continue.  There are not as many as they once were because there are less farms, there are less people working on farms and therefore there are less youngsters to come along, but we still have a few youngsters.  There were a couple in Gower this year came out for the first time.  And I hope that it will certainly continue for my time anyway, yeah? 
Right, thank you.