the A&P show

I love going to the fair in the summer but I was amazed at how I felt as if I had stepped back into time watching the events of the fair here in Wairoa as people show-cased the skills they used every day on their stations. Here in New Zealand the fair is called the A&P show. Agriculture and Pastoral.

The kids and I headed over on Fri. afternoon to catch the very beginning horse events. We met some friends from England and looked in amazement at the spread they had set out to nibble on all afternoon. The Europeans really know how to picnic in style. We settled in on the blankets and enjoyed a lazy summer afternoon under a big tree watching English style ridding, dressage, and jumping.

In the evening we headed back as a family to watch the speed shearing competition. What fun! The sheep just laid there limply when the shearers grabbed them and began shearing. The music was going getting everyone into it and the announcer sounded a bit like an auctioneer! The winner sheared his sheep in only 19 sec! On Sat. the sheep shearing continued all day with team events and timed trials seeing how many sheep one person could shear in a set time period.

On Sat. morning we fought the crowds (o.k. no crowds, this is Wairoa!) to get into the fairgrounds to see a horse show we Americans could identify with - the Rodeo! Bull fighting, barrel racing, calf roping all done in Western style. Some ranchers still use horses to round up their sheep although many have switched over to 4 wheelers.

Taking a break from the sun we headed into the domestics barn and found several women spinning the wool fleece into yarn. Several more women were in rocking chairs knitting the wool into sweaters. A room near by had the fleece (wool from the sheep) entrants and the winners.

I also had an entry in the domestics barn. I had been working on a Crazy Quilt for the past 1 1/2 years finishing just 2 weeks before the A&P show. Some friends suggested that I enter the quilt into the show. What fun to win 1st place in patchwork! Well, there wasn't very much competition but it was still a very rewarding experience. I am beginning to feel like I really fit in here. I gave the quilt to my mom when they arrived for a visit.

Just outside the domestics barn the "iron man" competition was going on. Teams of 3 had to do a variety of events including sheep shearing, wood chopping, hay bale rolling, pig carrying and other such things.

As we were heading back towards the main strip we stopped to watch the dog trials. Each trial took between 10-15 min. as the dog steered a group of sheep through a course. It was fascinating to watch these dogs work the sheep. The master typically carried a cane. He rarely lifted the cane but occasionally used it to create a visual barrier causing the sheep to walk in a different direction. The sheep were truly not interested in walking through a course. They would much rather eat grass. The patience of the farmer was amazing as well.

To finish up our day we watched some wood-chopping. If you won a round of wood-chopping you could enter the next round with a 9 sec. penalty. If you watch the man in the front of this video he had just won 4 rounds giving him a 27 sec. penalty. There was a 3 way tie for first in this round. Watch the blocks of wood as they split in half.

We were tired as we headed back to the car for the 5 min. drive home. It was fun to see all the things going on around us in every day life.

No Worries - Kris