A team of YFC members from the Ryedale District say it was “Yorkshire grit” that secured their first win in the Ladies’ Tug of War national final, after achieving fifth place last year.
The team, which was made up of members from Rillington YFC and Amotherby YFC, were determined to give it their best shot this year.
Team member Pippa Jackson said:
“We went in with our game face on and just did what we knew best. We stuck to what we know and had some Yorkshire grit with us.
“It’s the first time we've won at national level. It was quite unbelievable. I was shocked because last year we got a joint fifth. We've trained harder because I think we wanted it more.
“The win made all the hard work – blood, sweat and tears worth it. I still don't feel like it's real, but I sit and look at that first-place card on my mantel piece at night and go, yeah, we did it!”
The members who have been pulling together for the last four years were on a strict training regime and protein diet in the build-up to the competition.
“We’ve struggled in the past with the weight limit, so we’ve been eating lots of protein and cutting out the carbs. It’s hard to limit carbs – cakes are my biggest downfall! We all treated ourselves to an ice cream once we’d won as it was so hot,” laughed Pippa.
A long, dry summer meant the ground was particularly hard, and Pippa compared the experience to “ice skating with the Tug of War boots on.”
Kit costs can be high and in Ryedale they have been paying £3 towards each training session to help offset some costs. With boots coming out at nearly £150 a pair second hand, the District bought the boots to keep for future teams to use as well. Sponsors have also been secured who have supported the purchase of t-shirts and other items.
Despite the popularity of the competition, it’s a competition that requires a lot of commitment.
“It’s probably one of the worst sports to compete in,” admits Pippa when asked why the competition is a firm favourite in YFC. “I think it's just you train together, you work together as a team, you know everybody inside out, how each other pulls and it just makes it all worth it.”
For the GENSB winning team from Brecknock, their coach Rhodri Workman thinks it’s the only sport where everyone must work so closely together to achieve success.
“I don't think there's another sport like it. The fact that you're all connected on the rope and if one gives up, then somebody else has to work even harder and then you know you’re letting them down. You've got that sort of togetherness, and you can’t hide like in some other sports,” explained Rhodri who was impressed with his team’s dedication.
“They worked so hard in training – they throw everything into it every time they are on the rope. They practise a lot against the seniors too, which I think helps.
“We’ve been lucky, we’ve landed on a great group of young farmers who can take a bit of hard work.”
All the Brecknock team members are from farming families, so even when they’re not training, Rhodri found they were maintaining fitness levels through their roles on the farm.
It was Rhodri’s last year in YFC and he also pulled for the men’s team during the national final, coming third. He has taken over the role of coaching the junior team from his father Will Workman, who won the Tug of War trophy twice before. Rhodri is now looking to beat his record.
“I started at 12 and my dad coached me until I came out of the juniors at 18 so it’s nice to know that I have taken it on. Hopefully I can do as well as my dad did,” said Rhodri who hopes to get his junior team to next year’s national final too.
Many YFC members also compete in Tug of War competitions outside of Young Farmers, representing their counties and country.
NFYFC’s winning men’s team Anstey YFC took the title for a fourth consecutive year and won the Tug of War Association’s 2026 National Tug of War Championships in the Men’s 560 this year too.
