Awards celebrate rural sports talent
At a gala evening held at Palmerston North in March, the sporting and rural communities came together to celebrate the Ford New Zealand Rural Sports Awards.
Palmerston North is set to rumble with the power and excitement of rural sports this coming March, as Ford New Zealand takes pole position as the naming rights sponsor of the illustrious Ford New Zealand Rural Sports Awards.
The partnership builds on Ford’s four-year legacy as the title sponsor for the Ford Ranger New Zealand Rural Games. Other companies joining as sponsors include Freebairn & Hehir Lawyers, Hunting & Fishing and Rural News.
“We’re revved up to have Ford deepen its relationship through our events that celebrate and champion the titans of rural sports,” said the founder of the New Zealand Rural Games Trust, Steve Hollander. “Ford has been synonymous with rural New Zealand since 1936, and today, the Ford Ranger is the top-selling vehicle in the country.”
Ford New Zealand Managing Director Simon Rutherford said he didn’t hesitate to jump at the opportunity to accelerate their collaboration with rural sport.
“The Ford New Zealand Rural Sports Awards is the perfect platform to honour extraordinary athletes who have represented New Zealand on the world stage. The awards also highlight the dedication of the unsung heroes who work behind the scenes, keeping our rich rural sporting heritage alive.”
New Pit Crew Member Alert: Paul Allison MNZM has been appointed the Convenor of Judges. He is no stranger to competing and judging. He represented New Zealand in the Marathon and Otago in three sports. A Life Trustee of the Halberg Disability Foundation, he has served on both Sport New Zealand and the NZ Masters Games boards.
![]() |
---|
2023 Rural Sportswoman of the Year Megan Whitehead. |
Calling all rural athletes: Unleash your potential: Nominations are open to rural sports associations, including wood-chopping, shearing, horse-riding, tree-climbing, shooting, rodeo, harness racing, highland heavies, gumboot throwing and fencing. The award categories are:
Two other awards will be announced on the night; they are:
Nominations close on 23 January 2024, and finalists will be announced in February 2024. Nominations can be made here.
Recent rain has offered respite for some from the ongoing drought.
New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.
With much of the North Island experiencing drought this summer and climate change projected to bring drier and hotter conditions, securing New Zealand’s freshwater resilience is vital, according to state-owned GNS Science.
OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.
For Wonky Box co-founder Angus Simms, the decision to open the service to those in rural areas is a personal one.
The golden age of orcharding in West Auckland was recently celebrated at the launch of a book which tells the story of its rise, then retreat in the face of industry change and urban expansion.
OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…
OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.