The Citizen, 2017-03-23, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017.
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IPM Princess competition to debut at Walton match
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
The inclusion of the Princess
competition at the International
Plowing Match (IPM) outside of
Walton this year represents the
culmination of hard work by Barb
Terpstra, the competition chair, and
George and Ruth Townsend.
"They started this legacy by
starting the Princess competition,"
Terpstra said. "They made
something that stretched from Huron
County to the international stage and
I'm just happy to be taking
their dream and sending it
to the International Plowing Match
level."
The first-ever International
Plowing Match Princess competition
will be held on the junior
competition day, Saturday, Sept. 23,
and Terpstra is aiming to have 10
contestants at the match.
The competition is modelled after
the Queen of the Furrow contest
which sees young women compete
to represent their local plowman's
associations throughout the year and
vie for the spot of the Ontario Queen
of the Furrow at the IPM.
George and Ruth Townsend
started the first Princess competition
at the Huron County Plowing Match
a decade ago.
The competition will consist of an
interview with three judges, a one -
to -two minute speech on any topic
related to agriculture and an
impromptu speech based on the
contestant's profile.
"We're not trying to surprise them,
but we want something that isn't
pre -written," she said. "We want to
see how they react."
She said she is excited to have the
competition be a part of the IPM, but
also excited to have the new
tradition begin in Huron County,
where the Princess competition first
found success through the
Townsends.
"I'm very honoured to be chosen
to help bring the event to the IPM,"
she said. "It's a huge privilege and I
hope I do it justice and hope it
pleases the legacy that George and
Ruth and their family have started."
The competition winner will be
crowned Princess, but won't be
expected to be as busy as the IPM
Queen of the Furrow winner.
"We're not expecting them to
promote the IPM like a Queen, but
to promote the event wherever is
local to them,' she said. "We hope
the winner will make it to the
Ontario Plowmen Association's
annual meeting, but, unlike Queen
winners, Princesses can't drive
themselves throughout the province
to all sorts of events, so it would
be unrealistic to expect them to
be held to the same kind of
schedule."
Due to the timing of the IPM,
Huron County's Princess will be
newly crowned by the Huron
County Plowmen's Association at
the Huron County Plowing Match in
August, however not all associations
will have had their competitions by
them, or have a Princess competition
at all.
"Some locales will be sending last
year's Princess," she said. "Others
may just be appointing members.
"Huron County is really blessed to
have the kind of participation in
agricultural events it does," she said.
"There are so many youth -centred
ideas and plowing in Huron County
is so strong because of that junior
participation."
Terpstra pointed to last year's
Huron County Queen of the
Furrowcompetition, saying that four
of the competitors were former
Princess competitors.
"We have to start them young so
Continued on page 11
Tied to the family
Barb Terpstra's involvement in the International Plowing Match as organizer of the first-ever
Princess Competition can undoubtedly be tied to the fact that her children have been involved
with the Huron County Princess Competition and several similar events throughout the county.
Terpstra is excited to be taking a tried-and-true event originally created by George and Ruth
Townsend and taking it to the next level at the IPM. The Terpstra family is, back row, from left,
Emily Terpstra, Cole Terpstra, Alison Terpstra and Chelsea Terpstra. Front row are Barb and
Joe Terpstra. (Photo submitted)
A decade-long tradition
Ruth and George Townsend, shown here with 2016-2017
Huron County Plowing Match Princess Irelyn St. Onge,
started the county Princess competition a decade ago. This
year, the Princess Competition will debut at the International
Plowing Match in Walton. (File photo)
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