2012 Event

This years event will be on Saturday 18th August, with the 'Parade of Horses'taking place at the Hope Community School at 2.15 and the Ploughing Match will be at Sands o Wright at 3.30p.m.

On the third Saturday in August each year, the small island of South Ronaldsay in Orkney plays host to a unique and spectacular event which takes place in the village of St Margaret's Hope and a nearby beach, usually The Sands O'Wright - The Boys Ploughing Match.

The tradition of boys having a ploughing competition using miniature ploughs has taken place on the island for over a hundred years. Today this has been developed into an outstanding event with the 'horses' having beautiful and elaborate costumes, and the ploughing match prizes are keenly competed for - neatest ends, straightest ploughing, best starts and best finishes being some of them.  

Prior to the Boys Ploughing, the 'Horses' are judged in the village. This is also known as the 'Festival of the Horse'. The children are dressed in spectacular costumes to depict the harness and decoration worn by the Clydesdale horses which would have ploughed the fields in days gone by. 
The Ploughing Match Committee have produced a video with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and various other funding bodies. The video gives a fascinating insight into this unique event. All money raised is used by the Committee to promote and perpetuate the Boys Ploughing Match.