Hunterville, about an hour's drive north of Palmerston North, is usually a quiet town that services the vast sheep and beef stations and dairy farms surrounding it.
Located in the heart of the Rangitikei Region, Hunterville is known as the huntaway dog capital of the world - and it even has a huntaway statue to prove it.
Last weekend 2000 people crowded into the small main street for the 18th Hunterville Huntaway Festival.
The main event, the Shepherd's Shemozzle, is known as one of the most gruelling three-kilometre races, which challenges competitiors' fitness, mental strength and of course, relationships with their dogs.
Rural reporter Jemma Brackebush and video journalist Alexander Robertson went along to see what the shemozzle was all about.
