Australia is a country of sports fanatics although not every game can be watched at your local pub — but that doesn't mean a niche sport like competitive ploughing lacks a large and dedicated fan base.
Ploughers battle it out to see who can till a field into perfect rows of neat, straight furrows.
And while the sport is as fast-paced as a tractor, Alison McGee remembers just how many people came to see the World Ploughing Championships at Mount Ireh farm in Tasmania in 1982.
"And up until the AFL came to Tasmania, which was only back in the 2000s, as a sporting event, ploughing held the record for the most crowd on the first day of the contest."
McGee returned to Mount Ireh at Longford last month to judge the national ploughing competition.
And among those vying for a tractor triumph was a 19-year-old who will represent Australia on the international stage.
Next generation of the tractor tradition
Competitive ploughing is a time-honoured tradition with ceremony and pomp, from the "blessing of the plough" sometimes performed by priests at competitions to the hymns honouring the land's bounty.
It is a tradition that runs in Daniel Gladwell's blood.
His father competed overseas many times and it will be Daniel's turn in September when he heads to the international competition in Ireland.
"The ability to go and represent your country, especially for me, that's a big thing," he said.
"You get to travel the world and do something you do on your farm every day."
But it will not be a cakewalk: ploughing is an incredibly unforgiving sport.
During the hours and hours of competition, ploughers constantly measure their furrows, adjusting their equipment and checking their progress.
Daniel's father Peter said there is little you can do if you make a wrong move.
"If you've left, in this case, some rock sitting up or a furrow that doesn't match the rest of it, you cannot go back and play with it and change it with your hands otherwise you'll be penalised," he said.
"So if you make a mistake, it looks at you all day."
While Peter knows how gut-wrenching a mistake can be, he also knows the euphoria of a perfectly ploughed field.
"There's a great sense of satisfaction and achievement."
Competition with camaraderie
While Daniel will have his father to help coach him in Ireland, he won't have his own tractor due to the cost of transporting such a large machine.
He will also be on unfamiliar terrain, with different soil types requiring subtle changes to the ploughing technique.
It will be competitive but not without camaraderie.
"All the ploughmen and all the coaches are all in the same hotel, basically. So we're always mingling with each other, we all have breakfast and dinner together," he said.
"You do make a lot of friends from different varying parts of the world and you'll have a drink afterwards.
