Show season gets started
The sun shone and the crowds came as Taranaki’s annual round of agricultural shows kicked off at Waverley yesterday.
Stroppy sheep proved tough competition for some of the competitors and dogs in their annual matching of wits as they attempted to drive three of the woolly animals around a course and into a small pen in an allotted time in the sheepdog trials
Waverley Dog Trial Club president Denis Smith said the trial was over a different course this year.
‘‘The sheep are a bit of a test, quite strong minded,’’ he said.
‘‘But we’re having quite a few competitors pen them and we’re very pleased with how it’s going.’’
There were no cattle on show this year but the horse section was in full swing, with ponies and horses and their riders competing in jumping and flat classes, including Charlie Stone, 8, from Kai Iwi who won the champion pony prize in her section with her animal, Romeo.
‘‘This is the first A and P show Charlie has done, so it’s quite exciting for her to get that,’’ her mum Janie Ford said.
Around the showgrounds, there was something to please everyone.
Leilah Tahuaroa, 12, from Whanganui, was conquering her fears as she scrambled up the rock climbing wall at the Roadsafe Taranaki stand.
‘‘I’m scared of heights and the first time I did it, it was quite scary but after I got used to it, it was quite cool,’’ she said.
One of the busiest people at the show was Alf Christian from the Ha¯wera Vintage Machinery Club who was giving rides in a wagon pulled by his miniature steam traction engine.
The Egmont A and P show in Ha¯ wera is on this Friday and Saturday, followed by Stratford the following weekend.
One of the more unusual services on offer at Ha¯ wera is free testing for Hep C by a team from Taranaki DHB from 9am–4pm on Saturday at site 4. Hep C can lead to liver disease and/or cancer.