Last year she won numerous competitions, including some against top shooters from around the country. She also had wins against teams from Great Britain and the United States. After winning the youth award she said she was grateful for all the opportunities she had, and it was cool to see what a girl from a small town like Dannevirke could achieve. “I hope I can shoot some more bullseyes next year.” She hoped to be selected for the New Zealand team for the Oceania games, as well as the North Island open, junior and women’s shooting teams, where she can then qualify for New Zealand teams. She also planned to become the top secondary school shooter at the national secondary school championships in September.
The finals are to be held on Friday, March 12, at Awapuni Function Centre, the night before the New Zealand Rural Games begin in Palmerston North. but this is now uncertain due to changing Covid-19 alert levels. “I’ve been involved with sheep trialling for 40 years starting as a youngster shepherding. I’ve picked up administration stuff in recent years,” Mallinson said. Secretary of the Hilton/Gapes Valley Collie club for 17 years, she has helped organise South Island and New Zealand championships and has been editor of the New Zealand Sheep Dog Trial Association newsletter for 13 years. The newsletter is distributed in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.