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It seems no matter where you are in the world, the fencing competition scene seems to bring together like-minded, hard-working, salt-of-the-earth people; always willing to share knowledge, banter and a beer or two, even if you only just met on the fence line.

It is these connections that are being developed through the international competition exchange programme developed by New Zealand Fencing Competitions (NZFC).

Jeff Joines & Tim Staffords’ win in the 2025 Fieldays Silver Spades earnt them entry into the US Platinum Silver Strainers Doubles Championship held at the East Coast Fencing Rivalry (ECFR) in Galax, Virginia. The boys’ travel costs were kindly sponsored by NZFC, Fieldays, Cyclone, Revolution Postdrivers, Strainrite and FCANZ.

Naturally, the wives decided it was a trip we really couldn’t miss out on, so we tagged along for the adventure. Six weeks after their NZ win, the four of us touched down in the States.

Derrick Cox had organised a great bunch of exhibitors, showcasing their products on his property where the ECFR event was held. He wrangled the Kiwis to demonstrate some of their NZ fencing techniques, which naturally morphed into some fabulous discussions and reciprocated demonstrations by the Americans.

Day one saw the handwork competition – the one we had travelled halfway around the world for. The day began with the singing of the National Anthem at the judges’ briefing, which was a pretty special experience. Adjusting to the intense heat, humidity, altitude, and imperial measurements was a challenge, and having chosen not to bring any tools from home (they borrowed everything from Derrick) created another challenge for Tim and Jeff when they found their favourite hammer or cutters weren’t sitting on their hip, where they usually are.

Competition specifications were for a netting fence with barbed wire on top, and, like New Zealand, there was a time component to consider. Most of the pairs bored their line post holes, but Tim and Jeff chose to dig by hand, something they began to regret slightly when one competitor next to them passed out from heat and exertion. At this point, the NZ wifey support team threw extra bottles of water and electrolytes onto the NZ line; we were definitely not ready for the trip to end just there! In the end, the boys were the first team to finish, and they were pleased with their finished product.

Americans Deuce Brown & Dylan Herndon, NZ bound for Fieldays 2026

Prizegiving that afternoon saw them receive the winners’ trophy and belt buckle. Second place was American pair Deuce Brown and Dylan Herndon; which earnt them a place in the Fieldays Silver Spades Doubles Championship in June 2026, as part of the exchange programme.

For the Machine Post Driving competition the following day, Tony and Debbie White kindly provided a Revolution Swinga postdriver which they attached to a Bobcat skid steer loader (operated by remote control) for Jeff to use, and arranged for Tim to borrow another small Bobcat skid steer loader for laying the line. Neither of them had operated anything like these machines previously, so a brief test drive was required!

A big crowd watched on as the eight teams drove posts, ran netting out and strained up barbed wire. There was a fascinating mix of skid steer loaders with side mount rammers, tracked machines, vibrating rammers, and netting dispensers.

Judges had specified that any type of end assembly and angle brace could be utilised; they wanted to see tidy, consistent workmanship and a variety of techniques on display. This led to some discussion about the Kiwis’ in-line angled stays. Seeing as most people there mow their paddocks regularly, these are seen as an obstruction, so an H-brace, or in-line stay is more common.

Despite this, the judging team was pleased with the Kiwi’s overall fence and workmanship, as they were awarded 1st place, and were presented with another large trophy to contemplate getting home.

An additional competition was held towards the end of the day for any pairs who dared to take on the ‘Man Killer’ – a two-man manual post thumping challenge, ramming in two pointed posts to a pre-determined depth in the fastest time. Jeff paired up with our newly acquainted friend Mickey, and the two of them put on a winning performance, much to the delight and cheers of the gathered onlookers.

It was really great having a good number of Kiwis over there, with the four of us; Debbie White with NZFC and Tony (Revolution Postdrivers, a sponsor of the NZ team), Andrew Thoms (Cyclone, a sponsor of the NZ team), Warren and Jill Herlihy (Warren, judge), and Troy Knudsen (Fencequip, a sponsor of the ECFR event).

We caught up with American competitors who have been out to New Zealand in the past to compete at Fieldays – Ed Struna, Deuce Brown, Sebron Jessrup, Alex Masser, and Jason Day. It was truly great to reconnect with those guys on their home turf.

Derrick did a superb job of hosting us and provided us with great accommodation nearby. He has developed a fabulous event with a great vibe that is so well supported by so many folk; it is really exciting to see.

He also introduced us to his mob of Longhorn cattle, which he breeds for their horns. It’s quite cool to see them smoothly tilt their head sideways as they run through a 12ft gateway to avoid hitting the posts on their way through!

We chatted to an amazing array of people at the event, competitors and contractors from all over the US, all with different business structures, machinery and skills. They all made lasting impressions on us and made us feel like part of their fencing family.

In the days following the competition, we embarked on a road trip to visit some of these people in their hometowns. They took time from their busy workload to show us around their yards, their jobs, local attractions and their supply stores. It was time spent with these guys and their families that really was a highlight for us all. Cyclone rep Andrew Thoms joined us for some of these visits. It was great to have his company and his deep understanding of wire and steel products.

Mickey Hikin, Tim, Jeff, Andrew Thoms, Jake Wilson, at Wilson Fence, Lexington, Virginia

We drove two hours North to Lexington, Virginia, to see Jake Wilson (Wilson Fence) and Mickey Hikin. We are big fans of Mickey; you couldn’t meet a nicer young bloke. Jake runs an impressive fencing business, and we spent a good part of the morning in his yard ogling over his vehicles, machines, trailers and tool boxes, before tying a few wire knots with them. Jake is also Huntsman of the Rockbridge Hunt Club. They hunt Bear, Fox and Coyote with horse and hound, over a vast amount of land heading up into the mountains. The bear are hunted only for the chase, and the hounds are called off when the bear eventually retreats up a tree. Being ex-military, he drove us through the Virginia Military Institute, where we witnessed the new intakes of ‘rats’ (new cadets) being put through their paces.

A further two hours north, we met up with Jason Day, who had been on the judging team at Galax. Jason and his mate Steve showed us around his uncle’s cattle farm and poultry raising sheds, before we wrangled in some freshly weaned cattle from his parents’ lawn. We enjoyed seeing Jason’s workmanship on some of his recent jobs, including a nice set of cattle yards with a section of curved rails. His lovely wife, Mary, then joined us for a tour of the Shenandoah Caverns, which was pretty spectacular.

The next day saw us cover a lot of miles as we headed back down country, and by now the boys were getting pretty used to driving on the wrong side of the car and the road. Jake had recommended that we stop at Buc-ees, a huge travel station off Interstate 81. With 120 fuel pumps, 600 parking spaces, 200 employees, expansive immaculate bathrooms, a vast gift shop, as well as Texan BBQ dining options- it was quite the American experience!

Our next visit was to the Kencove post mill in Eastman, Georgia. Here we were given a tour of the mill by Austin and Jeff.
A small team of skilled guys operate the two year old mill, visually sorting and grading each of the Southern Yellow
Pine logs that Jeff personally marks for selection out in the local farmer-owned forests. A nearby Kencove distribution centre is due to be opened soon, and judging by Austin’s skills, the location, and some of the products we saw out the back, it is going to be a great asset to the business and the wider area.

Dylan Herndon (Herndon Fencing and Farm Services) kindly spent a day showing us around his patch near Gray, Georgia. Dylan runs a very tidy yard, and this flows through to his work on the fence line too. A good chunk of his work also now includes mulching trees. He has a Caterpillar skid steer with a mulcher attachment that makes pretty short work of anything that he turns it to. After showing us around some of his fencing jobs, we met his wife, Riley, and their son, Jackson, out for dinner.

After a 3.5 hour drive the next morning, we called in on Deuce Brown. Deuce showed us his work, including a recently completed large farm conversion. Here he had installed a number of very tidy subdivision and boundary fences, water lines and troughs, all to local government specifications. We then rocked up to his folks’ farm, where we met all the family and were treated to a delicious sit-down home cooked BBQ meal, and happily discussed his upcoming wedding!

While Jeff and Jeana took in some sightseeing in Charleston, South Carolina, Tim and I grabbed the Dodge and shot back up the road 4.5 hours to Mt Ulla, North Carolina, to visit Ryan Sloop (Sloop Fence). We happily tagged along as he delivered gear to an enormous natural gas power plant for a security fence job. We learnt about his unique style of fencing business as he drove us by some of the NASCAR drivers’ properties that he works on. An ex-dairy farmer himself, Ryan took us to an indoor dairy farm run by his friend Elliot, where they year-round milk up to 1,000 cows. We also toured through the packhouse of a neighbouring fruit and vegetable farm, where 4th generation farmer Victoria informed us that this season they grew 234 acres of tomatoes, 116 acres of capsicums, 69 acres of cucumbers, and 78 acres of strawberries – all outdoors!

After saying goodbye to Ryan, Nora, and their kids, we hightailed it back to Charleston to pick up Jeff and Jeana, then nipped two hours across to Savannah, for the four of us to spend our last day (which may or may not have included some shopping) before flying home.

A tremendous shout out to everyone we met, chatted to and shared a meal, an iced tea or a root beer with. You have all stamped your own special mark on our USA trip.

Having experienced the NZFC exchange programme, we can attest to its value to the New Zealand fencing scene as a whole on the world stage, and we hope that more competitors get the opportunity to experience it.

Written by Vanessa Stafford