It was late winter 2022 in the Northern Hemisphere when we had a visit from Stu Tyler from Strainrite Fencing Systems, and over what would turn out to be more than a few beers at our kitchen table, Stu started pressing for an answer as to why I hadn’t visited New Zealand for a bit of hands-on fencing education.
I didn’t have an answer for him. I suppose I did, but not an acceptable one, and it was a bit embarrassing. He called my bluff. So, as soon as we got him back on the plane headed home, I booked my tickets for a few weeks’ visit in New Zealand, including the full week of Mystery Creek Fieldays and the Golden Pliers® / Silver Spades™ NZ Fencing Championships. Simply put, I had no idea what treasures were ahead.
After a mostly uneventful journey and re-creation of the kitchen table scene previously mentioned, day two of my trip found me in the left seat of Hugh Morrison’s infamous Ram, where we made good time going to meet Jeff Joines on a security fencing project he was just wrapping up.
It was fantastic to finally meet the man behind all of the (nearly) viral YouTube videos. As anyone who knows him will attest, we spent plenty of time laughing on that journey!
The remainder of that trip was filled with the Mystery Creek Fieldays, with most of my time spent soaking up all of the knowledge I could from the best fencers in the world. Having the opportunity to meet legends like Wayne Newdick, Shane Bouskill, Paul Van Beers and Owen Peterson, as well as the current stable of young guns who are turning the fencing world on its ear, is something I never dreamed I’d experience. If you had told me how the next year would play out, I’d have called you a liar.
We were fortunate to have Hugh and Craig Wiggins (‘Wiggy’) over for our Fall Fence Forum in October 2023, and the reception was overwhelming with the attendees. They both did a fantastic job helping American fencers learn some new Kiwi fencing techniques, and they certainly made many new friends in the process.
In our fencing comps, we see great value in our international competitors. It is purely from a selfish standpoint, as we take way more than we give, but after some discussion with those fencers, I thought that it made good sense to try and enter a few competitions abroad and bring what I learn back to the fence line at home.
This led to another visit to New Zealand in February, and entries in the Taumarunui competition with Wayne Newdick and the Waimumu competition with Donald Cornwall. Boy, was I in for a learning experience!
Wayne did his best to prepare me for my first NZ fencing competition, and I think all he needed was a better student! I made the same mistake that we had spent the most time learning how NOT to make, and this cost us 20 points in the process. But that’s just the thing about fencing competitions that makes them so valuable, in my opinion.
It’s the place where you will never be under more pressure to do the job right and fast, but at the same time has very little in the way of real world consequences, and that translates to the perfect practice pitch. The South Island competition was something brand new for Donald and I.
Rabbit netting isn’t something either of us had ever done, so it was quite an entertaining challenge. I had to call Mark Evans in England for some advice on that one! It was really neat to see how many different styles there were across the field of competitors, and just how tidy some of them were with their netting terminations was amazing.
The time between those two comps is really where I got my first taste of Kiwi hospitality, where I was made welcome at every place we stopped…not only on fence lines, but in fencer’s homes as well. On that drive from Auckland to Waimumu, we called in on what seemed like every fencer in New Zealand.
Mack Rennie graciously set me up with a gearbox, Wayne and Kathy Newdick made me feel at home, Shane and Joelene Bouskill made sure I was never hungry or thirsty, Wiggy teed up a jet boat ride up the gorge, Donald and Christine Cornwall made me feel at home on their farm, and the list goes on. As I get a little older, it becomes more evident that I may occasionally use fencing as an excuse to visit my friends, and it’s because of the amazing hospitality in this community.
Our most recent visit was for the 2024 Golden Pliers/Silver Spades competitions, and that was a whole new level of learning curve! I was able to get in some training days with Jeff Joines, Shane Bouskill, and Jared Nicholson who was also kind enough to enter the heats with me.
Until you get in the mix yourself, you really have no idea what it takes to compete with these guys who make the finals. All of the fiddly little bits that add up to a pile of points, the tricks to do a faster job without giving up the quality, and having the endurance to do it at a sprint are things we can learn and train ourselves to do if we are willing to put in the time and effort. I can’t wait until the next opportunity to try it again and I surely will walk away with another bucket full of tips and tricks from the masters of the game.
I would like to give a special thank you to Hugh Morrison. Without his efforts, there would not be nearly as open a channel as there is for fencers to connect. If you need to know something, he always knows the person with the answer.
I would also like to thank my wife, Leslie, for all her hard work and for taking care of things at home when I’m away. Our last visit was extra special for me because my daughter was able to join me. I am always a little nervous to over promise and under deliver, but you did not disappoint! Thank you to everyone who took the time to make Kate’s visit very special. It was just awesome to be able to include her.
Finally, I would like to say how thankful I am for resources like FCANZ and NZFC. As a strictly agricultural fencer, I’ve always felt more at home as a member of FCANZ than any of our domestic associations. It takes a ton of work to run a quality organisation, and that doesn’t go without notice.
The effort it takes from the organisers and judges to run the fencing competitions far exceeds what it takes to compete; you are all legends. It was fantastic to see the fencers handle the teardown at Mystery Creek this year, and to have that money go right back into making a better future is just awesome.
I’d also like to say that it was nice to see three father/daughter duos on teardown day. I am looking forward to our next opportunity to visit, and I hope to see some familiar faces visiting us soon as well!
Article written by Luke Gibson
Overall, my experience in New Zealand was amazing. It was an unforgettable experience for sure, the country is beautiful, everyone I met was super nice and friendly.
I learned so many new things about fencing and about the country! Thank you to all the people who let me spend time with them, and for teaching me very valuable things. I hope to visit again next year. This was one of the best experiences of my life because of the people, thank you for giving me some of your time (especially Izzy Joines, Hugh Morrison and Shane Bouskill)!
Kate
Published in WIRED Issue 74 / September 2024 by Fencing Contractors Association NZ
