Awards celebrate rural sports talent

Encompassing a wide variety of events including the likes of wood chopping, harness racing, ploughing, rodeo, sheep dog trials and other more recognised sporting genres, the top accolade of The Ford New Zealand Rural Sports Supreme Award and the RX Plastics New Zealand Rural Sportswoman of the Year went to 29-year-old, Feilding expat Steph Dryfhout.

Steph has solidified her position as one of the world’s top tree climbers, with a victory in the 2024 ISA International Tree Climbing Championship, after double qualifying by triumphing in both the 2024 ISA Asia-Pacific Tree Climbing Championship and the 2023 New Zealand Tree Climbing Championship.

A growing sport worldwide, New Zealand hosts four regional competitions annually alongside its national championship, which determines international representatives. The 2024 International Tree Climbing Championship in Savannah, Georgia, featured 94 of the world’s top climbers from 43 global chapters.

As the undefeated New Zealand women’s champion since 2018, Steph has represented New Zealand at four ITCC world championships, achieving 2nd place in 2019, 3rd in 2022, and 5th in 2023, before claiming the world title in 2024. Steph is also a two-time Asia-Pacific champion.

Taking out the PTS Logistics New Zealand Sportsman of the Year, well known wood chopper Jack Jordan won his third consecutive Stihl World Champions Trophy in 2024, where he set a new world record of 52.53 seconds in Milan, Italy. Extending his success beyond the Champion’s Trophy win, Jack also finished second in the Stihl Individual World Championship held in Toulouse, France, accumulating 61 points across six disciplines.

First selected for international competition at only 14 years old, he has since accumulated 13 world titles, while remaining a dedicated farmer, managing a 4,000-acre sheep and beef farm near Taumarunui.

Other prize winners included Harness Racing Driver Carter Dalgety, who in 2024 made history as the fastest junior driver ever to reach 100 career wins and clinched his first Junior Drivers’ Premiership with 67 wins. International experiences saw him in New Jersey and Philadelphia in the US, before returning home to secure two Group 1 victories, in the $100,000 Invercargill Cup and the $250,000 Auckland Cup, making Carter a deserving finalist for The Fonterra Young New Zealand Rural Sportsperson of the Year Award.

Recipients of the Courtesy Ford Lifetime Legacy Award included 86 year-old Alan Wallace, a retired farmer from Te Awamutu, who has spent over six decades in New Zealand’s ploughing community, shaping the sport, mentoring competitors, and contributing to its legacy.

Alan made history in 1981 as the first New Zealander to win the World Ploughing Championship in Ireland. He represented NZ four times, placing 2nd in England (1971) and 5th in Sweden (1976). Domestically, he was the first North Island competitor to win the NZ Ploughing Championships and won the title four times.

The Award was also bestowed on 83 year-old, Jack Davis of Lowburn, Cromwell, a New Zealand Sheepdog Trials stalwart.

Starting out in the sport began in 1952 at 11 years of age, between 1980 to 1985, he and his dogs held the coveted “Top Dog” title in both Heading and Huntaway disciplines for five consecutive years. Jack has also served on the New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial Association Council for over twenty years, while beyond competition, Jack has been an influential judge, officiating across the South Island, including the prestigious South Island Championships in 1999 and the New Zealand Championships in 2001.

Rounding out the trio, Sir Mervyn Tutuiri Church, a youngster at only 75 years old, is a monumental figure in New Zealand rodeo. A shepherd with the Onuku Māori Lands Trust in Rerewhakaaitu, has extended his influence far beyond his local community, reaching the international stage with his induction into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Colorado, USA. An extraordinary career boasted 30 NZRCA titles, Sir Mervyn’s competitive prowess is legendary. Notably, he holds the Guinness World Record for 15 consecutive All- Round Championships, a feat unmatched in rodeo history. His dominance spanned three decades, excelling in Saddle Bronc, Steer Wrestling, and Rope and Tie events.