Running of the sheep to sweep through Te Kuiti

By AINSLEY THOMSON

It may not have the glamour or danger of angry bulls stampeding through Pamplona, but 2000 skittish sheep running down Te Kuiti's main street has a certain Kiwi charm.

On Saturday afternoon, thousands of spectators will line Rora St in the King Country town for the inaugural Running of the Sheep.

The event marks the 20th anniversary of the New Zealand Shearing Championships.

And where better than Te Kuiti to host such an event - after all, it is the "Shearing Capital of the World".

In Pamplona, Spain, the Running of the Bulls is led by Spanish men clad in the festive-dress of white shirts and pants with red scarves and sashes.

In Te Kuiti, the Running of the Sheep will be steered by All Blacks legends Sir Brian Lochore and Colin Meads, clad in Swanndris and gumboots, and riding on quadbikes.

Helping control the sheep will be some of the country's top dog trialists.

But, as NZ Shearing Championships president John Grainger noted, sheep do tend to follow each other.

No one is quite sure who actually thought up the concept of the Running of the Sheep.

"But we all live off the sheep's back here," said Mr Grainger. "We want to emphasise that sheep are the backbone of the economy."

Top shearer David Fagan, who has won 550 competitions around the world, including five world titles and 13 NZ Shearing Championships, said the event was meant to be lighthearted and was a "new twist" to celebrate the competition's milestone.

The 2000 ewes used in the event will be shipped in from his brother, John's, farm.

The two men are the founders of Te Kuiti's now world-renowned NZ Shearing Championships, which this year have about 300 competitors.

The attraction for many to the Spanish Running of the Bulls is the danger element - the fact that people have been gored to death by the horned animals.

Sheep don't share this furious temperament. The danger is not so much to life and limb, but to council gardens.

But still Mr Grainger said he had to fight bureaucracy to make the Running of the Sheep happen.

"It's pretty hard to get permits for this sort of thing."

The event has been well thought out, right down to the level of how to deal with all the sheep dung left on the road - there won't be any because the sheep will be fasted before the run.

"But not so much as to upset any grannies, of course," said Fagan.

Exactly what will happen during Te Kuiti's first Running of the Sheep is anyone's guess.

But as Mr Grainger said, you never know, it might just develop a cult following like its famous counterpart.