Welcome to the Hunterville Shemozzle, the race that really puts shepherds to the test-icle! Made with funding from NZ On Air.
The Hunterville Huntaway festival has become a fixture on the local calendar, and this was its biggest year to date with two and a half thousand people crowding the main street.
Sam Horrocks, Vice Chairman of the Shemozzle Committee, said "The Hunterville Huntaway festival started 19 years ago with fourguys in a pub who decided that the village fair was going down the gurgler. So they thought we need something different, they thought the huntaways are the backbone of this rural community, without huntaways most of the people here would be unemployed. So they thought let's base it around that, stole a few ideas from events around the country and ended up with the Shepherd's Shemozzle."
In the main race of the day, 100 shepherds and their dogs compete for a grand prize of a thousand dollars, and the coveted trophy.
However, race numbers had to be capped this year, apparently because the organisers ran out of woven sacks. There was also confusion over how long the course is, some say it's three kilometers, but it's definitely tough going up the notorious Steep Hill. Then back to town and through water obstacles.
But there's worse to come. Challenges include picking up bulls' testicles in their mouth, eating worm sandwiches, and the hardest of the lot, convincing dogs to ride in a wheelbarrow.
