Plowmen celebrate Klaver's win with Seaforth event

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

On Sunday, the community came together in Seaforth to celebrate Maranda Klaver’s Ontario Queen of the Furrow win, a crown she claimed earlier this year at the International Plowing Match held near Kemptville.

The Huron County Plowmen’s Association hosted the event, which was held at the Seaforth Legion. It included several special guests and presentations over the course of the afternoon. Recently re-elected Huron County Warden Glen McNeil and Plowmen’s Association President Brian Wiersma were among those who spoke, in addition Klaver herself.

In an interview with The Citizen, Klaver said she thought the event went well and she really welcomed the opportunity to celebrate her big win with members of her home community. During her address at the event, she told those in attendance that one of the greatest aspects of being named the provincial Queen of the Furrow has been putting Huron County on a bigger stage, adding that she’s so very proud to be from this community.

She said that attendance at the event was robust, with many family members and friends making the short trip. She also said that, in addition to the aforementioned special guests, she was happy to welcome numerous other Queens of the Furrow from around the area.

Klaver said she’s been very thankful for the support she’s received from the community, both at home and on the road at the International Plowing Match. She told those in attendance on Sunday that, while she’s travelled a fair bit since being crowned Ontario’s Queen of the Furrow, there really is no place like home.

At the match, Klaver placed in the top five of the competition, placing fifth in the plowing portion of the competition, which she said made her very proud.

She was joined in the top five by the Queens of the Furrow from Leeds, Peel-Dufferin, Ottawa-Carleton and Wellington, which was then trimmed down to a top three of Ottawa-Carleton, Peel-Dufferin and Klaver, who was eventually chosen as the winner of the competition.

Klaver said she was immediately treated like royalty on her first day of the match after winning the crown, even being treated to a helicopter ride above the grounds.

Klaver said her family was unable to make the trip to support her at the match, but she was overjoyed to see the reception she received when she returned home from Kemptville. Her family had made a large wooden sign celebrating her win and were all there to greet her, wearing crowns of their own.

The Dufferin Farm Tour was Klaver’s first official event as the Ontario Queen of the Furrow, which she attended in an attempt to introduce herself and promote the 2023 International Plowing Match, which will be held in Peel-Dufferin, hosted by the Townships of Grand Valley, Amaranth and East Luther, from Sept. 19-23, 2023.

She has since attended her first plowing match, making her way to the Haldimand-Oneida Plowing Match in Hagersville. Klaver then attended the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto and several local Santa Claus parades and Christmas events.

Klaver says she’ll have a busy 2023 and she’s looking forward to all it has in store for her.