Top gong for young shooter
Young Dannevirke shooter Stephanie Mcnair reigned supreme at the New Zealand Rural Sports Awards.
The 17-year-old Palmerston North Girls’ High School student was named the youth sportsperson of the year and won the supreme gong at the awards ceremony at Awapuni Racecourse on Friday night.
The New Zealand Rural Games were in Palmerston North at the weekend, with the sports awards recognising many of the competitors in action during the weekend.
Target shooter Mcnair only started in the sport in 2018, and quickly moved up the ranks from Dgrade toagrade.
Last year she won numerous competitions, including some against top shooters from around the country. She also had wins against teams from Great Britain and the United States.
After winning the youth award she said she was grateful for all the opportunities she had, and it was cool to see what a girl from a small town like Dannevirke could achieve. ‘‘I hope I can shoot some more bullseyes next year.’’
She hoped to be selected for the New Zealand team for the Oceania games, as well as the North Island open, junior and women’s shooting teams, where she can then qualify for New Zealand teams. She also planned to become the top secondary school shooter at the national secondary school championships in September.
King Country woolhandler Keryn Herbert was named the rural sportswoman of the year.
Herbert competed in 15 open woolhandling finals in the 2019-2020 season across New Zealand and established herself as the contender to beat.
After winning five of the competitions, she staked her claim as the No 1-ranked open woolhandler of the season for her fifth time. Since 2005 she has won 48 open finals, represented New Zealand nine times in transtasman tests, and won a world teams title inwales.
She paid tribute to Manawatu¯ shearer Ronnie Goss, who died last month, as an icon and a leader who created a pathway for her career.
Top Hawke’s Bay shearer Rowland Smith won the rural-sportsman-of-the-year award.
Smith has won more than 160 open finals since the 2006-07 season, including multiple Golden Shears and New Zealand titles, and the 2014 world championship in Ireland. In March last year, he won the Golden Shears title for a seventh time and now is second only to David Fagan’s 16.
Smith, who takes an interest in the development of young shearers, now has his sights set on the 2023 world championship.
The judges couldn’t separate the finalists for the lifetime legacy award, with five winners named.
The winners were Curly Troon for gumboot throwing, Sally mallinson for sheep dog trials, Greg Herrick for shearing, Nick Liefting for fencing and Sheree Taylor for woodchopping.
There were also joint winners in the outstanding contribution to New Zealand rural sports, with Murray and Deneece Goldsworthy recognised for their work in harness racing and warre nwright in shearing.
Olympic shot putter Tom Walsh won the award for outstanding sportsperson from a rural background.
He said the award had been a tough year mentally for athletes.
Taranaki-king Country National MP Barbara Kuriger promised to wear gumboots and overalls into Parliament during an auction raising money for the New Zealand Rural Games Trust.
Bidders pledged $6000 to get her to wear her farm gear to Parliament.