Kilts come out at Hororata Highland Games

The caber-toss (Newshub,)
The caber-toss (Newshub,)

The kilts came out en masse in Canterbury on Saturday for the sixth annual Hororata Highland Games.

As well as the usual tartan, pipes and cabers, there was also an appearance from a local Olympian.

Most sports frown upon performance-enhancing substances, but the caber toss is not your typical pastime, and a little whiskey doesn't hurt.

The caber toss is just one feature of the Hororata Highland Games, first held in the small town just west of Christchurch in 2011.

The Games is a community-led event that began after the town was damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes.

It's one of the biggest Highland Games in New Zealand, now attracting more than 10,000 people per year.

"It's been a great thing in terms of reinvigorating the community," says Hororata Community Trust's Mark Stuart.

"We make some money out it, and we try our best to put Hororata on the map."

It includes all your usual Highland competitions. There's the sheaf toss, highland dancing and the 18-pound stone putt, which on Saturday included a code-hopping, kilt-wearing Jacko Gill.

And not surprisingly, the Olympian was pretty good at it.

"It's just pretty much a rock picked out of the ground. It's all different shapes and sizes. It's good fun," he says.

Above all else it's a good excuse to dust off your tartan.

Newshub.