Hawke’s Bay was in the thick of it as the reputedly biggest farm expo in the Southern Hemisphere opened near Hamilton on Wednesday.
Fieldays, at Mystery Creek, featured, among the many events, the Golden Pliers farm fencing championships, dominated over the years by Hawke’s Bay competitors Paul van Beers and in more recent years by father-and-son Shane and Tony Bouskill, all also world champions.
But, braving the fog which made Mystery Creek even more mysterious, it was the chance for the younger fencers taking a break from one of the busiest years on the farms to indulge in some of their sporting dreams.
Two teams each from Smedley, near Tikokino, and Pukemiro, just east of Dannevirke, were taking part in the Silver Staples, for cadets at farm-training institutions, while on Friday, when the Golden Pliers will be decided, Tony Bouskill’s brother in law, Bernard Condon, of Tutira, is in the Bill Shuler Novice final.
Once the morning fog had gone, Waikato developed one of its finest winter days, with about 100,000 people expected to traipse the trails and fields by the Fieldays ends on Saturday.
