Shepherd's Sprint

Ok Hamish and Peter won.

Yay New Zealand!

The Shepherd's Sprint is an obstacle course race

that the shepherds did in their national pairs

Here's Northern Ireland

with Thomas in front.
I sat with Thomas at the Awards Dinner a few days after this
and he was a little ill from hanging out with our North Otago Young Farmers.
It must have playing touch rugby then having a drink.
Apparently running and beer don't always mix too well.

The first activity in the Shepherd's Sprint
was to race the other 10 teams

in setting up a break and then

 to put together a child size wheelbarrow.

Once the wheelbarrow was made

they need to load a little, tiny toy sheep in it.

This had to stay with the team the whole time.

Below these guys are running put a litre of water in their bucket

to make a litre of milk from New Zealand's

premier export product....

milk powder!

Then they needed to up the milk

and do the killer activity.....

eat three wheatbix.

One and a half each of dry, dry wheatbix.

Here's Kelsey from Montana

doing it the wrong way.

Here's the tip,

chuck the wheatbix in the milk, mix it up, let it soak a bit

and then eat the mooshy mash of wheatbix.

Gross!

The team then ran like the clappers

with their wee red wheelbarrow and pet lambie lamb

to a pen where they needed to grab a sheep

(mean to be a ram for reasons to be revealed shortly)

and put a ram harness on one sheep.

(see)

Goo Scootlan!

Then, taking their little barrow the teams

 one team member needed to beat cream with a whisk,

hold it over their head to check whippyness

(they all did alright)

decorate a mini-pav with cream and kiwifruit and eat it

quick as they can.

Then collect up the potatoes,

jam them in a bag,

sew it up,

the bag not the race

though the kiwis did have it sewn up.

More running,

collecting up the standards they set up at the beginning of the race 

USA having lots of fun.

Uruguay running like a slow breeze.

Here's my team France.

I was dragged into being a judge for the Sprint.

I'd already judged poor old Ireland through two modules

because I am the expert in ATV safety and sheep organs y'know.

Ireland got to run through the modules that morning

because bad, bad Qantas made them a day late.

Beniot, closest, and the other guy whose names slips my mind

spoke no English which is a slight issue cause we don't speak French.

Luckily I had a paddle with a red side and a green side

so they knew when they could move on from each activity in the Sprint.

Ok I lie, they just moved on anyway.

I had their translator, their industry rep and some other woman,

who may have been a reporter

on the paddock 'helping' the team.

I even paddled the bottom of the industry rep and

booted him off the field for 'helping' too much.

Not that he listened to me.

He spoke English so he knew, little monkey.

Anyway France came fifth

which was an excellent placing.

A good day with the shepherds at the

World Young Shepherd's Challenge.

Next post will be all about the afternoon

at Totata Estate.

Ah the suspense will kill you....