RX Plastics New Zealand Rural Sportswoman of the Year Award
Michell Wallis
Harness Racing
Age: 58
Hometown: Auckland
Auckland trainer Michelle Wallis, 58, stands at the forefront of New Zealand harness racing, commanding respect as the country’s pre-eminent trainer of trotters. A finalist for the RX Plastics New Zealand Rural Sportswoman of the Year, her 2025 season represented a definitive career peak, marked by landmark victories and record-breaking success.
Training in partnership with her husband, Bernie Hackett, Michelle enjoyed a personal best year in 2025. The duo surpassed a major milestone, eclipsing $1 million in earnings for the first time, and celebrated a crowning achievement on New Year’s Eve by winning the coveted Group 1 National Trot at Alexandra Park with Hillbilly Blues. This victory was the pinnacle of a 57-win season that solidified their status as the nation’s top trotting trainers.
Michelle’s career is a long-standing testament to expertise, patience, and a specialised skill for developing gait-perfect trotters. She has been a leading figure in the training ranks for many years, consistently producing Group-level contenders. Her sustained excellence sees her stable compete successfully against all comers every week at Auckland and Cambridge, the heartlands of the sport.
While she has achieved most of the sport’s major honours, one key ambition remains: to win the prestigious Rowe Cup, one of New Zealand’s premier trotting races.
Approachable and generous with her time, Michelle is a respected ambassador for the industry. Beyond the track, she enjoys travelling and takes great pride in supporting her daughters in their own sporting pursuits.
By breaking her own records and securing elite Group 1 glory in 2025, Michelle Wallis exemplifies how dedication, deep knowledge, and partnership can drive sustained success at the very highest level of rural sport.
Steph Dryfhout
Tree Climbing
Age: 30
Hometown: Feilding
Bay of Plenty’s Steph Dryfhout, 30, has transcended the sport of competitive tree climbing, establishing herself as a global phenomenon and a reigning champion. A finalist for the RX Plastics New Zealand Rural Sportswoman of the Year, she is the defending Supreme and Sportswoman of the Year winner, and her 2025 campaign was a perfect demonstration of continued world domination.
Steph authored an unprecedented golden run across the international circuit. She began by winning the Asia-Pacific Championship in Australia, then travelled to Poland to place as the top non-European competitor at the European Championships. Her season culminated on home soil with a historic, crowning achievement: becoming the Women’s World Champion at the International Tree Climbing Championships in Christchurch – the first time the 50-year-old event has ever been held in New Zealand.
Domestically, her dominance was absolute. She successfully defended her New Zealand National Champion title, achieving the highest overall score against the entire field of both male and female competitors.
To reach these pinnacles, Steph had to qualify and triumph over the best national champions from across the globe, a testament to her unparalleled technical skill, strength, and composure under pressure. New Zealand is a world leader in arboricultural techniques, and Steph is its foremost ambassador.
Beyond her competitive brilliance, Steph is deeply committed to the industry’s future. She actively mentors emerging talent through formal programmes and is a key advocate for the growing Women in Trees movement, inspiring the next generation with her passion and expertise.
From Feilding to the peak of the world, Steph Dryfhout’s 2025 season cements her legacy. She is not just winning championships; she is elevating her sport, breaking barriers, and setting a new standard of excellence for rural athletes everywhere.
Laura Bradley
Shearing
Age: 28
Hometown: Woodville
Woodville shearer Laura Bradley, 28, is a trailblazer redefining the landscape of shearing sports. A finalist for the RX Plastics New Zealand Rural Sportswoman of the Year, her 2024-2025 season was a historic campaign of firsts, shattering gender barriers and establishing her as one of New Zealand’s most formidable competitors, regardless of grade.
Laura achieved what no woman had before, becoming the first female to be ranked No. 1 nationwide in the Senior shearing grade. This milestone meant she had now been the top-ranked shearer in New Zealand across three consecutive grades: Junior, Intermediate, and Senior.
Her dominance was showcased at the New Zealand Shearing Championships in Te Kuiti, where she secured a remarkable treble: winning the Senior Shearing final, the Women’s Shearing final, and the Junior Woolhandling title. She won 12 of 22 Senior finals, claimed South Island longwool and Corriedale titles, and earned a No. 2 national ranking in junior woolhandling.
Most significantly, her performances earned her an automatic upgrade to the Open class – the first woman to achieve this solely through competition results. She immediately proved her place, becoming the first woman to reach an Open final at an A&P Show, finishing fourth at Wairarapa.
A farmer and a mother, Laura balances elite sport with family life and the demands of the land. Her goals are now set on the pinnacle of the sport: qualifying for the Golden Shears Open quarterfinals and, longer-term, pursuing a world shearing record.
By consistently outperforming the best male and female competitors in her grade and breaking into the sport’s elite Open class, Laura Bradley isn’t just winning competitions; she is forging a new path and inspiring a generation in rural New Zealand.
