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18 The<br />
NEWS<br />
<strong>North</strong> <strong>Canterbury</strong> <strong>News</strong>, <strong>October</strong> <strong>26</strong>, <strong>2023</strong><br />
Trading gumboots for stilettos and catwalk<br />
By JOHN COSGROVE<br />
Tradingjodhpurs and riding boots for<br />
stilettos and ball gowns, Eyrewellbased<br />
horse endurance racer Petria Haigh, took<br />
to the stage and competed in the <strong>2023</strong> Miss<br />
Five Crowns NZ beauty pageant, winning<br />
two of the five crowns in the process.<br />
Petria won the Miss Tourism World<br />
Crown and was also crowned Regional<br />
Winner. Her Miss Tourism World Crown<br />
NZ will allow her to compete at the world<br />
finals later this year in Asia.<br />
It was the second time Petria (23) had<br />
entered the competition<br />
‘‘I entered back in 2019, and having<br />
never worn heels before, Istruggled with<br />
the walks in the various sections.’’<br />
She didn’t place that year, but was<br />
surprised when she was later asked to<br />
travel to Uganda in 2022 to compete in the<br />
Miss Planet International competition.<br />
However she says she and the other<br />
entrants quickly left the country on advice<br />
due to serious security concerns.<br />
‘‘I was alittle bit hesitant to enter this<br />
year, but Pam Cummings,the pageant’s<br />
national director, asked me to come, so I<br />
started practising walking in heels again.’’<br />
She says strutting the catwalk in high<br />
heels is very different from working<br />
around horses in gumboots every day.<br />
‘‘I had to practise for months, suffered<br />
sprains and twists before Ifinally got it<br />
down pat in time for the pageant.’’<br />
Petria entered because the Miss Five<br />
Crowns NZ (MFCNZ) is very different from<br />
the usual beauty pageants.<br />
‘‘It's all about empowering women,<br />
encouraging diversity, gaining confidence<br />
and making adifference in the world<br />
today.’’<br />
There are no rules about acontestants'<br />
age, whether they are married or not, or if<br />
they have had kids. There is no body shape<br />
shaming, no ethnicity or gender rules, it’s<br />
all about empowering women and Iloved<br />
the experience.”<br />
She says there were none of the preconceptionssome<br />
people have about<br />
pageants, the cattiness or drama.<br />
‘‘The women taking part were all super<br />
friendly. Nodramas just alot of new<br />
friends andfun.<br />
‘‘It's all about women learning how to<br />
love themselves, and be proudoftheir<br />
bodies as they dress up for their families<br />
andfriends.’’<br />
The competitionispopular in the <strong>North</strong><br />
Island, but still relatively unknown down<br />
south.<br />
Petria says she had three months of<br />
video calls covering rehearsals for the<br />
competition show, learning how they<br />
wanted contestants to walk and learning<br />
the three main dance steps.<br />
Attendance at these rehearsals is<br />
counted as part of acontestant's overall<br />
score.<br />
‘‘We were marked on that, plus how<br />
much charity work we achieved, our social<br />
media presence and at the grand final how<br />
we answered the judge's questions and<br />
presented ourselves.’’<br />
At the grand final in Auckland, Petria<br />
joined the other women and following the<br />
dancing sections, she paraded in the<br />
fashion, swimwear and evening wear<br />
categories.<br />
Thisyear contestants sought<br />
sponsorship to raise funds for the events<br />
charity –Koru Care.<br />
It is acause very closetoPetria’s heart<br />
as coincidently she was aided by Koru<br />
Care when just six months old when she<br />
was diagnosed with akidney tumour.<br />
‘‘I lost akidney and over the years Koro<br />
Care has helped us out.’’<br />
Later she went on aKoro Care makeawish<br />
triptothe Melbourne Cup.<br />
‘‘I had always wanted to be in abeauty<br />
pageant, or to act, so when the opportunity<br />
presented itself in 2019 Itook it.<br />
‘‘I got to dress up in front of my family,<br />
Winner ... Petria Haigh.<br />
they loved it —well my mum Karyn loved<br />
it —while my dad Allan was, Ithink, abit<br />
shocked to see his little daughter on stage<br />
PHOTO:SUPPLIED<br />
all dressed up. But it was afun event and<br />
Iwould recommend it to all women to give<br />
it ago.’’<br />
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