HCPM23: 2014 Princess, Natalie Fear, is now carrying the torch
BY SCOTT STEPHENSON
The Huron County Plowing Match (HCPM) Princess competition will be taking place on Thursday, Aug. 17, and a new winner will be crowned, carrying on the legacy of 2022/2023 Princess Jillian Shortreed.
The contest is open to teenage girls between the ages of 12 and 17 who are passionate about their community, offering a unique opportunity for the county’s rural girls to share their voice with the public.
Huron County’s Natalie Fear is one of organizers of this year’s event, as she has done whenever called upon since 2014 when she won Princess of the Furrow at 16 years of age. “It was something that Brian McGavin asked my dad if I would be interested in, and on a whim I said yes… it was fun, but I didn’t expect to win!,” she explained. “Ever since then we’ve just been involved in helping out every year with a bit of the organizing.”
To become Princess doesn’t require any plowing. “You have to do a 10-minute interview and then do a one-to-two-minute speech,” said Fear. “The judges change every year, but it’s always a panel of three members of the community that have experience in agriculture or have been involved in the fair or any other community groups… Usually they want to know about how much you know about the history of the plowing match - it’s a bit like a job interview!”
The interview traditionally happens on the Thursday morning of the HCPM, and the public speaking component happens after lunch. Event organizer Ruth Townsend created the Princess program in 2005 as a way of getting younger girls to consider a possible future as Queen of the Furrow. “I think it’s a really good opportunity for girls to practise public speaking, and just practise in front of the public,” said Fear. “There’s a lot less opportunity to give presentations in elementary school now, and it can be really scary when you go on to high school or college, or university, if you’ve never done public speaking. This is just a fun way to get that experience. I think everyone in the plowing match world is really friendly, and everybody’s really excited when they see you, and they always say, ‘hi’ - it’s just a great environment.” In addition to being heard and winning a crown, the Princess gets to ride in Christmas parades and attend occasional educational meetings. “I think it’s all about celebrating agriculture and understanding the hard work that goes into farming - you don’t get to just take a pause and celebrate often, and the plowing match is a great opportunity to do that.”
As one of the event organizers, one of Fear’s key responsibilities is finding interested young people to enter the contest. She receives a lot of useful guidance from local women with planning experience, and feels lucky to be a part of a group that includes Townsend, Arletta Hallahan, Val Shortreed and Natalie’s mother, Ann Marie Fear. “We’re sort of like the organizing committee that puts this together every year,” said Natalie. “It’s a really close-knit community, which is one of the many things that makes it special.”