Ploughing · Family · NI-wide A different host farm every year
NI Ploughing Championships
A big two-day rural family day out each late September — tractor and horse ploughing, gleaming vintage machines, livestock, trade stands and plenty of food.
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Late SeptemberTwo days · 25–26 Sep 2026
New farm each yearMoves around NI · check the host
Every late September the Northern Ireland Ploughing Association takes over a big working farm and turns it into a two-day festival of ploughing, vintage tractors, horses, livestock and trade stands — the countryside at full throttle, with the whole family welcome.
What it is — the Northern Ireland International Ploughing Championships, run by the NI Ploughing Association: two days of competition ploughing where farmers turn the straightest, tidiest furrows they can, watched by big friendly crowds. It's been going for over 80 years.
The ploughing — classes for every kind of plough: modern tractor ploughing (conventional and reversible), vintage tractors, and the crowd favourite, heavy horses drawing a plough the old way. Competitors come from across NI and the Republic.
More than furrows — rows of restored vintage tractors and machinery, livestock, trade and craft stands, farm-machinery demos, and food everywhere. It's a proper country show wrapped around the competition.
For families — kids love the big machines up close, the horses, and the room to run. It's outdoors on a real farm, so it's a boots-and-wellies day — but that's half the fun.
The venue changes every single year. There's no fixed address — the championships move to a new host farm somewhere in NI each year, so always check niploughing.com for this year's location and postcode before you set off.
When to plan — pencil in the last weekend of September. The 2026 championships run Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September, near Royal Hillsborough — watch the official site for the finer details.
What's on
From straight furrows to heavy horses
The ploughing is the heart of it, but there's a whole day out around the edges. Here's the shape of what a family can wander between across the two days.
🚜Tractor ploughingThe main event — conventional and reversible classes, where the judges reward the neatest, straightest, most even furrows.
🐴Horse ploughingPairs of heavy horses drawing a plough the traditional way. Slow, powerful and a real favourite with children.
🛞Vintage machineryRows of lovingly restored old tractors and farm engines, polished to a shine — and vintage ploughing classes too.
🐄LivestockFarm animals to see up close, a big draw for younger children and a slice of real country life.
🛍️Trade & craft standsMachinery dealers, rural crafts, local produce and country gear — a lot of browsing to be done.
🍔Food & family funHot food, tea and treats around the ring, with entertainment to keep the whole family fed and happy.
Plan your visit
How to do the ploughing with kids
This is an outdoor day on a working farm, so dress for a field: wellies or sturdy boots and a warm, waterproof coat, whatever the forecast says — the ground gets churned and muddy fast. Because the championships move to a new host farm every year, the first thing to do is check niploughing.com for this year's venue and postcode, then pop it in the sat-nav. Give yourself time — there's a lot of ground to cover, so plan a loop: watch a ploughing class or two, walk the rows of vintage tractors, say hello to the horses and livestock, browse the trade stands, and grab food by the ring. Bring cash for stalls and parking, and a buggy that copes with grass if you've little ones. It's a slow, wander-at-your-own-pace kind of day — perfect for letting children take it all in.
The venue is different every year — always check before you go.
There's no permanent site. The championships are held on a new host farm somewhere in Northern Ireland each year. For 2026 that's near Royal Hillsborough on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September — confirm the exact location, times and parking on niploughing.com.
Good to know
Everything before you go
When
A two-day event each late September. In 2026 it runs Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September. Confirm dates on niploughing.com.
Where
A different host farm somewhere in Northern Ireland every year — there is no fixed address. The 2026 venue is near Royal Hillsborough. Always check the official site for the current location and postcode.
What's on
Competition ploughing (tractor and horse classes), vintage tractors and machinery, livestock, trade and craft stands, food and family entertainment.
Best for families
Kids love the big machines, the heavy horses and the space to roam. It's a relaxed, wander-around country day out.
What to wear
Wellies or strong boots and a warm, waterproof coat. It's an open farm field, so expect mud and wind whatever the weather.
Getting there
Drive — the site is rural and changes yearly. Follow the AA/steward signs on the day and the postcode from the official site.
Handy to bring
Cash for stands and parking, a grass-friendly buggy for little ones, and snacks and water alongside the on-site food.
Outdoors
Almost entirely outdoors on farmland — a true country day, best enjoyed dressed for the field.
Questions
The NI Ploughing Championships, answered
When are the NI Ploughing Championships 2026?
They run over two days in late September — Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September 2026, near Royal Hillsborough. As the venue moves each year, always confirm the dates and location on niploughing.com before you travel.
Where is it held?
On a different host farm somewhere in Northern Ireland every year — there's no permanent site. Recent years have been at farms in different counties, and 2026 is near Royal Hillsborough. Check the official site for the current venue and postcode.
Is it good for children?
Yes — it's a real hands-in-the-country day. Kids love watching the big tractors and heavy horses ploughing, meeting the livestock, and having room to run about. Just dress them for a muddy field.
What's actually on, besides the ploughing?
Plenty. Rows of restored vintage tractors and machinery, livestock, trade and craft stands, machinery demos, and lots of food and family entertainment around the competition ring.
What should we wear?
Wellies or sturdy boots and a warm, waterproof coat — no matter the forecast. It's an open farm field and the ground gets churned up and muddy underfoot.
How long has it been going?
A long time — the Northern Ireland Ploughing Association has run these international championships for over 80 years, uniting ploughing societies from right across Northern Ireland.
Getting there
There's no fixed address — the championships take over a different host farm across Northern Ireland every year, so the first job is to check niploughing.com for this year's venue and postcode. For 2026 the event is near Royal Hillsborough (25–26 September). It's a rural, drive-to day: pop the postcode in the sat-nav, follow the stewards and event signs as you get close, and expect field parking on grass.
Ploughing matches are one of the oldest traditions in the Northern Irish countryside, and the Northern Ireland Ploughing Association has run its international championships for over eighty years — bringing together more than twenty local ploughing societies from every corner of NI. Each year a different farming family lends their land, the association marks out the plots, and hundreds of ploughmen and ploughwomen arrive to compete for the neatest, straightest, most even furrows they can turn. Around them grows a whole country show: gleaming rows of vintage tractors, pairs of heavy horses, livestock, trade stands and the smell of hot food drifting across the field.
For a family it's a lovely, honest day out — the big machines up close, the patient horses, the space to run, and a real look at where our food comes from. Just remember the two golden rules: the venue changes every year, so check niploughing.com first, and wear your wellies. Then go and enjoy the countryside at its liveliest.