Michael Jackson closing in on the finish line to win the final sheep race at the Kaitaia and Districts A&P show.
Michael Jackson closing in on the finish line to win the final sheep race at the Kaitaia and Districts A&P show.
Racing sheep and a bearded dragon were among the highlights of Saturday's 129th Kaitaia and Districts A&P show.
The association was pleased with the crowd, a mixture of horse, beef and dairy cattle aficionados and families, many of the latter making a bee line for the small collection of sideshows,some pausing for a round of zorb soccer on the way.
There was much more to catch the eye, including racing sheep and an Australian bearded dragon, which seemed to revel in (or at least accept without complaint) the admiration of all as it clung to owner Alys Winchester's shoulder.
Two-year-old Cetus (named after the Greek sea monster credited with destroying Rome.
He hadn't destroyed his/her home at Mangonui, yet, Alys said, although that was not for lack of trying) was officially there to help draw people to the SPCA tent, and he did a good job of that.
He was friendly and could be trusted not to bite, Alys said, adding that he had been born in New Zealand, Australia having put a stop to exports in the 1970s, when extinction began to loom over the species.
He could be expected to live for 12 or 15 years, with luck perhaps 20. He even took his own lunch with him - bugs and salads, preferably featuring capsicum, his staples.
The racing sheep were not quite so exotic. Greg and Mandy Clark had no difficulty in choosing the long drive to Kaitaia from Warkworth over Saturday's other option, a short jaunt to Helensville.
Zorb soccer didn't sound easy, and certainly didn't look it.
"This is a nicer show with a much better atmosphere," Greg said as he prepared to introduce his stable of speedsters to the public.
The couple have a flock of about 30 racing sheep at home, and have been running races in New Zealand and the UK for three decades.
Greg was quick to assure anyone who might have been concerned that the woolly steeplechasers ran of their own free will, the only inducement being bins of some delicacy or other at the end of the course.
Another batch of joy riders about to go for a spin in a tea cup.
Once they had gobbled that up they ambled back to the gazebo at the start line and settled down to wait for the next event on the card.
There were five bowls of food for six sheep, Greg added, and they didn't take long to work out that there was value to be had from getting there first.
Lamborghini, Mint Saucey, Phar Lamb, Cardigan Bay, Roast Ram and Michael Jackson were certainly off like a flash when the gate open.
Those who backed Michael Jackson, winner of three from three, were rewarded with a coffee mug.
