Like sporting champions from days gone by, such as All Blacks Colin Meads and Brian Lochore, speed-fencing national title holder Tim Garrick keeps fit for the competition stage by working the hill country.
Garrick’s backyard on the East Coast stretches the150km distance from Tolaga Bay, in the north, to Māhia, in the south, where he’s a fencing contractor.
Training for the rural sport of speed-fencing is not about gym workouts and personal trainers, he said.
Garrick’s training regime is his job keeping stock secure in the wider area north of Gisborne.
With wild weather hitting farms and destroying fencelines during Cyclone Gabrielle, Garrick’s skills and machinery are in high demand.
“It’s been a pretty busy last two years for us with a lot of work going on, and a lot of work still to do,” said Garrick, who invested in a tractor with a post rammer capable of working steep terrain.
The back-breaking competition sees strong, agile athletes race around the field carrying posts, heavy machinery and wires to erect a fence in less than 15 minutes.
At the Rural Games in Palmerston North last March, the contest went down to the wire with Garrick winning the title by a mere 0.3 seconds from Shane Bouskill.
At Mystery Creek, at the next big event on the calendar at Fieldays last June, Garrick excelled again in a display of skill by dethroning multiple national title holder Bouskill for the Golden Pliers trophy at Mystery Creek.
Garrick now hopes this excellent form will extend to his next major event when he defends his Rural Games title in Palmerston North in early March.
There's no room for wonky posts or loose wires in speed-fencing where athletes are judged for speed and accuracy.
Competitions are also a chance for rural athletes to share new ideas and techniques.
He said it’s a thrilling sport for spectators with plenty of action on show, ramping up from the heats to semis and finals.
“In the qualifying heats you bore a hole with a post hole borer, install a strainer and ram up a post,” Garrick said.
Speed-fencing champion Tim Garrick (centre) shares the Rural Games podium with father and son duo Tony Bouskill, 3rd (left) and Shane Bouskill, 2nd (right), Palmerston North, March 2024.
“You do similar again for the semifinals - and then for the final, you install an angle stay or brace and a post and two wires.
“It’s pretty fast.”
Accuracy is a factor, with the judges making their final deliberation before any cash prizes are awarded.
Garrick has also been named one of three finalists in the New Zealand Rural Sportsman of the Year award.
The other finalists are Taumuranui timbersport champion Jack Jordan and West Melton harness racer Blair Orange.
The winner, along with the Rural Sportswoman of the Year and the Young Rural Sportsperson of the Year, will be announced during the upcoming Rural Games.
Athletes in shearing, tree climbing, rodeo and motocross are up for awards.
