Fast n’ furious weekend of rodeo

There was a sea of cowboy hats in Methven on Sunday, when the annual rodeo rode in to town.

About 300 cowboys and girls from around the country attended the event, and a warm spring day ensured there were hundreds of people there to cheer them on and share in the good times, and the not-so-good times.

It is a sport where injuries are common – it is a long way to the ground from the top of a bucking horse or bull – and Methven Rodeo president Tom Plunkett knows that all too well.

He competed on Sunday, a couple of weeks after getting a cast taken off the arm he broke at the Mt Isa Rodeo in Australia a few weeks ago.

But fortunately Sunday’s event was largely drama free.

It was a big weekend of rodeo action, with the annual Winchester Rodeo preceding the Methven event on Saturday, which meant most of the country’s top cowboys made the trip to Canterbury to ride in both, and hopefully head home with a bit of prize-money in their pocket.

Turangi’s Courtney Fox did just that, producing an impressive ride to win the barrell racing, while the open saddle bronc competition was won by Corey Church, a member of the Church family who have been a part of the New Zealand rodeo circuit for many years.

While rodeos often attract attention from activists, worried about the safety of the animals, there was no sign of that on Sunday and Plunkett believes the rodeo’s horses actually have it pretty good.

For the team behind the Methven Rodeo, the safety of the animals is paramount.

‘‘They probably live the best life a horse could live. They come down from the stations for eight seconds’ work then they got back up to the stations.’’ - Fairfax NZ

The family of a diver missing off Banks Peninsula in Canterbury are ‘‘hoping and praying’’ searchers will find his body. A search was launched on Saturday to find Seddon Ralph Jane, 42, of Wairoa, after he was reported missing at about 10 o’clock that morning.

An American professor has died while conducting research in Antarctica. The University of Maine said 50-year-old Gordon Hamilton died on Saturday when the snowmobile he was riding hit a crevasse and he fell 30 metres. Hamilton had been in Antarctica doing research for the National Science Foundation. His work focused on the role of ice and glaciers in the climate system.