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Shearers To Let Sheep Loose On Te Kuiti's Main St
29 March 2004
Shearers To Let Sheep Loose On Te Kuiti's Main St
About 2000 sheep will be let loose down Te Kuiti's main street, as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of the New Zealand Shearing Championships.
The Championships get underway in Te Kuiti on Thursday
New
Zealand Shearing Championships President John Grainger says
the organising committee has adopted the world famous
'running of the bulls' concept to create its own 'Sheep
Run'. "We are anticipating controlled chaos for the
sheep run! Like in Spain, we are counting on the crowd to
provide a natural barrier to the sheep and to help direct
them down the street," Mr Grainger says. "Rugby greats
Colin Meads and Brian Lochore will ride on motorbikes with
the sheep and we will also have some trained sheep dogs
standing by to ensure the sheep go where they are meant to."
The Sheep Run will start at 1pm on Saturday "We are really pleased
the Sheep Run has the support of the Waitomo District
Council, as we feel it has the potential to develop and
become a unique event for the town and district," Mr
Grainger says. The Sheep Run will begin at the southern
end of the town's main street, turning right halfway down
before returning to the town's 'Shearing Capital of the
World' statue of a shearer shearing a sheep. Another
special event being held to recognise the 20th anniversary
is a 'Celebrity Shear-off' between Meads and Lochore and
former Australian rugby player turned TV personality Peter
FitzSimons.
"There's a lot of interest in the Shear-off
and especially in how Peter FitzSimons will perform against
the wise old heads of Colin and Brian. We are going to give
Peter some expert tuition before the Shear-off." He says
in the past 20 years the New Zealand Shearing Championships
has grown to become the largest event in the district,
attracting hundreds of shearers and thousands of spectators
and supporters.
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