At the beginning of November 2024 I was invited back to Holland to help run a hedgelaying course near Utrecht and to then go on to the Dutch National Championships. My good friend Martijn Schippers and his son Luke asked for my help in facilitating a training course on a large hedge in Haarzuilens.

Martijn runs a volunteer group based on his home town of Harmelen and is really passionate about hedgelaying and all the wildlife benefits that it brings. This hedge in particular is much larger than those he normally gets to lay, so he asked for my help in instructing his volunteers.

The hedge was predominantly hawthorn and although a single row, it had been planted at a good density and was very consistent with good height and side growth. I was assigned a group of more experienced volunteers and we soon got to work at a gap in the hedge which had to be opened up to allow tractors to pass through.

There were no stakes and binders to use on this hedge; instead we left live stems every 4 feet or so which were cut off at a height of around 3.5 feet. The pleachers were then laid and built around these stems in order to support the hedge.

The volunteers were very competent and soon had the start of a very sturdy and stock-proof hedge constructed. Due to the excellent amount of side growth, we were able to cover the pleachers very well, much as we do in the South of England style.

Two days later we were off to Friesland in the north of the Country for the Dutch National Hedgelaying Championships. Although a much smaller event than we have in the UK, it was very well supported with lots of interested spectators as well as numerous side stalls and other attractions such as home-made produce etc.

Having been invited to the competition, I wasn’t sure whether I would be competing, demonstrating, or just watching. The answer came as soon as we arrived in Holland. ‘We would like you to judge the competition if that’s okay?’ I was a little taken aback, as well as honoured to be asked. As it happened, I also had the assistance of Lex Roeleveld, another very competent hedgelayer and also the main organiser of the event.

There were around 20 entrants in all over several classes: Open, Novices, and Team. The styles being cut varied from Maasheggen, to live stakes only, and to South of England. In order to make the competition fair to all styles, the binding wasn’t a judged criteria; instead, stock-proofing, build, and of course, quality of cutting were all marked.

We even had a local musician accompanying the cutters as they worked….

After the usual 5 hours cutting time, Lex and I got to work on the judging and the clear winner was Luke Schippers, who retained the title after winning it the previous year. I was delighted for Luke as he is a very proficient cutter and seems to get better and better with each passing year. His passion for hedgelaying and his determination to keep improving belie his young age of 23. He will go on to great things in competitions, of that I am sure.

It was my great pleasure to be able to present Luke with his first place trophy. I’ve absolutely no doubt that he’ll be back to defend his title in 2025.

After the competition, we all retired to a nearby hostelry for the usual celebratory meal. Once again, a superb evening in the best of company and a great way to finish off what had been a truly fabulous weekend. Will we be back in 2025? Absolutely!