Today's special: woolly jumpers | Manawatu-Wanganui News | Local News in Manawatu-Wanganui

The Canadian men's rowing team was chasing sheep instead of gold during a lay day in Wanganui yesterday.

The large contingent arrived in the River City last Thursday to train for the world championships at Lake Karipiro but was given a day off yesterday to experience farming the Kiwi way.

The crews travelled in convoy to Riverlea Farm at Mangamahu, east of the city, where farm manager Lawrence Patterson worked his dogs, his sheep and the crowd like an old hand. And the visitors loved it.

Mr Patterson showed his eye dogs and his hill country huntaways in action before sending several of the greenhorns into the yards to muster the sheep. It wasn't pretty. They returned looking decidedly sheepish.

Conlin McCabe, the youngest in the Canadian crew, attempted it alone and did a fair job before the mob split into two groups and ran amok.

"This is harder than it looks. I'm from Brockville, Ontario, so I'm a city boy and not used to farm life, but I loved this today," he said.

Canadian team manager Adam Purfitt said that, while the team members were from throughout Canada, very few, if any, were from a farming background.

"The guys have settled into Wanganui well and have had a few training sessions on the Whanganui River, but today was time to have some fun and relax," Mr Purfitt said.

Riverlea farm worker and former shearing contractor Garth Hammond gave the crews a shearing demonstration and even invited several rowers to give it a crack - the visitors soon realised just how difficult it is to shear a sheep.