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.
Winners of the 2025 Ford New Zealand Rural Sports Awards will be announced at a gala function in Palmerston North next month.
The awards celebrate the dedication, skill, and achievements of rural athletes, sports administrators, and coaches from across the country.
Convenor of Judges, Paul Allison, highlighted this year's exceptional calibre of nominees.
"This year's nominations set a record, with more nominations for athletes and contributors received than ever before," says Allison.
"The Ford New Zealand Rural Sports Awards play a vital role in celebrating the outstanding achievements of rural sportspeople, from competitors excelling in their fields to those working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure the success of these sports," said Allison.
Annaliese Atina, managing director of Ford New Zealand, expressed Ford's pride in supporting the awards and acknowledging the incredible efforts of those involved in rural sports.
"Ford has a long and proud history of backing rural New Zealand, and we are honoured to recognise the remarkable athletes and sportspeople who represent the heart of our rural communities. These awards shine a well-deserved spotlight on the dedication, perserverence, and passion that drive rural sports," said Atina.
The gala dinner will include sporting personalities Erica Dawson, Tim Southee, Wayne Smith and others joining to help present the awards.
The finalists for the 2025 Ford New Zealand Rural Sports Awards are:
The PTS Logistics New Zealand Rural Sportsman of the Year Award:
The RX Plastics New Zealand Rural Sportswoman of the Year Award:
The Fonterra Young New Zealand Rural Sportsperson of the Year Award:
Other awards include the Ford Supreme New Zealand Rural Sportsperson Award - judges select one overall winner to go home with the Supreme Award.
Nominations to these awards came from rural sports organisations or clubs involved in wood-chopping, shearing, horse-riding, tree-climbing, shooting, rodeo, harness racing, highland heavies, gumboot throwing, ploughing and fencing.
The awards gala dinner takes place at Awapuni Racecourse on Friday, 7 March, during the Ford Ranger New Zealand Rural Games Weekend in Palmerston North.
DairyNZ chief executive Campbell Parker says the industry-good organisation is proud to be an ongoing industry partner of the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards, providing judging expertise and facilitating field days.
A major floodway infrastructure upgrade has been completed in Edgecumbe, providing enhanced flood protection and resilience for the local community.
Rural retailer Ruralco says it has made a $10,000 donation to the Mid Canterbury Rural Support Trust (MCRST) following the Ruralco Golf Classic held last month.
According to a new farmer survey, many farmers are rejecting New Zealand’s current ruminant methane strategy.
As the New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards night unfolded, it became evident that Waikato’s Thomas and Fiona Langford were the frontrunners for the biggest prize of the night – the 2025 Share Farmers of the Year award.
New Zealand’s dairy sector cannot expect India to be a market for all its dairy products.
OPINION: The good fight against "banking wokery" continues with a draft bill to scrap the red tape forcing banks and…
OPINION: Despite the volatility created by the shoot-from-the-hip trade tariff 'stratefy' being deployed by the new state tenants in the…