Zurich's Jillian Simpson crowned Princess of the Huron County Plowing Match

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Jillian Simpson from Zurich is the new Huron County Plowmen’s Association Princess for 2024 after being crowned last Thursday at Vermue Farms, just outside of Bayfield.

 

The 13-year-old will be entering Grade 9 in the fall, making the trip north to Clinton to attend St. Anne’s Catholic Secondary School. She is the oldest of six and has spent time volunteering with the Zurich Agricultural Society and is currently the Junior Ambassador for the Clinton Spring Fair.

 

On Thursday, Simpson was chosen from a pool of six contestants looking to succeed Rachel Wilts, from the Blyth area, who surrendered her crown that day after a year in the position. For her speech, she gave those in attendance a bit of a tour around her community and its points of interest when it comes to agriculture. 

 

Then, in the end, it was Simpson who so impressed the judges that she was named the winner of the competition. 

 

Sarah Van Nes was named the first runner-up. Van Nes spoke about the life of a cow for her speech, while fellow contestants Lillian Beyersbergen-Oakes spoke about the importance of agricultural education, Emma Greidanus spoke about agriculture and technology and Hailynn Greidanus and Lily Shapton both tackled the importance of the Huron County 4-H program.

 

Speaking with The Citizen earlier this week, Simpson said she was completely taken off-guard when her name was announced as the winner. “Oh my gosh - it’s me,” she remembers thinking. She said she wasn’t expecting it because it was her second year of competing and the other contestants had done such a good job with their speeches as well.

 

Speaking of her speech, she said she put it together to highlight all of the agricultural attractions in her community. Knowing that people from other counties attend the match, she thought it would be a great thing to talk about that might spark some interest in her home community of the Zurich area and much of southern Huron County.

 

But the Princess contestants’ day began even earlier. They spent the morning together and each took their turn with the judges. Simpson says she experienced a bit of nervousness both in her interview and on stage before her speech, but that the judges and her fellow contestants were good at relaxing one another, remaining calm and ensuring that everyone had fun throughout the competition. 

 

After her victory, Simpson said the next few days were a lot of fun. She was back at the site for the Huron County Plowing Match the next day and tagged along with the Queen of the Furrow contestants for much of the day, taking part in activities with them in the morning as they went off, one by one, to have their own judges’ interviews.

 

She then watched as the contestants delivered their own speeches that afternoon and then made their way out to the fields for the plowing portion of their competition. Simpson said it was really interesting and informative, especially if she hopes to throw her hat into the ring for the Queen of the Furrow title one day in the not-so-distant future.

 

She then took part in the Huron County Plowmen’s Association gala dinner and awards presentations that night, which is where Mackenzie Terpstra was crowned Queen of the Furrow. The two young women are sure to spend a lot of time together in the year ahead.

 

In fact, that began the very next morning as they rode together in the Bayfield Fair parade just down the road from Vermue Farms, the site of the Huron County Plowing Match.

 

Looking ahead, Simpson says she is most looking forward to attending agricultural-themed events, fall fairs and parades and spreading the word about the Huron County Plowmen’s Association and its annual plowing match, as well as information about the world of agriculture in Huron County.

 

Simpson will turn 14 years old this October. Her goal is to eventually attend the University of Guelph where she hopes to study agri-business. From there, she wants to work on a farm, be it her family farm or another farm in the area. She has said she hopes to not stray too far from her home.