The annual Hunterville Huntaway Festival is almost upon us, and the 20th Anniversary Event promises to be the most spectacular yet.
For those who haven't heard of the event, it may seem strange that the small Rangitikei township of some 430 people attracts 5000 to 8000 visitors to a huntaway dog trial.
However, the dog trial itself is but one event in an action-packed day whose main drawcard is the Shemozzle.
The Shemozzle was thought up over a bottle of wine by three Hunterville locals, Tony Theed, Richard Horrocks and Thomas Powell. Having found the Hunterville Village Fair to be failing in its aim to draw town and country together, they set about finding a replacement event.
After some to-ing and fro-ing the wine had run out but they had invented the Shemozzle -- a race for shepherds and their dogs, involving obstacles and "Mount Nigel, a pretty steep hill".