Within the space of half an hour, the landman has looked at his vest pocket watch several times (as long as something is functioning, it will not be discarded) when he says to me 'until noon, I can do exactly one more round trip (pulling a fork there and back) and then I'll untie the horses (lunch break)'. For more than a week, he is ploughing a stubble field from 7am. His brother delivers him the breakfast bag containing food and drink at 9am each time.
Several times I visited this farm and just as many times I thought 'when will this man stop this hard work'. Well past eighty, a dilated body, each time lashing that heavy rolling plough.
On my last visit, I saw how Piet, with his muddied high shoes, tried to remove a layer of sticky clay soil from the ploughshare (actually rister). In doing so, he brought himself down and was unable to quickly withdraw his leg in front of the plough. As he fell, he made a guttural noise that caused the horses to start spurring on. I stood close to the horses and brought them to a halt. This was the right moment to convey my thoughts, yet I immediately realised that nature takes precedence over doctrine. Pete simply could not stop, it would have been pointless to try to convince him that everything comes to an end once.
Groningen-based painter, illustrator and author Wim Romijn enjoys international fame as a horse painter. He also paints farm animals and wildlife. His designs and illustrations served to make greetings cards, calendars, posters, embroidery kits, portfolios and giclées.
In the picture books Het Werkpaard (1990), the..
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