New Open Champion For Golden Shears

THE GOLDEN Shears has a brand new open shearing champion with young Waipawa shearer Cam Ferguson winning the title ahead of a prestigious line up of five of the world’s most elite in the field.

Ferguson made shearing his twenty sheep look like a saunter through the park, his handpiece slicing through fleeces like a hot knife through butter, and sheep disappearing down the exit port at lightening pace.

The TAB had Ferguson in fourth place to win the shearing championship, an impressive status given the big names he was up against. These included 16-time open shearing champion David Fagan, 2006 open champion and world record holder for the most lambs shorn in nine hours, Dion King, and two-time open champion and runner up in the 2008 world champs, John Kirkpatrick.

The two shearers picked to come in after Ferguson were two-time open champion and 16-time open finalist, Paul Avery, and 12-time open finalist, Dean Ball.

As Golden Shears commentator Koru Mullins said right after the last sheep was shorn in the open final, “if the All Blacks could play like these guys shear, we’d win every world cup”.

Twenty six year old Ferguson is one of the three youngest shearers to ever have won the title of Golden Shears open shearing champion in its 50 year history. The Waipawa father of three, whose partner Teresa Hall also has shearing title to her name, only won his first title three seasons ago at the Counties Show in Pukekohe.

Ferguson made it to the Golden Shears open shearing semi-finals two years ago and missed the them by one place last year.

His form in the lead up to this week’s Golden Shears was on the fine side of variable.

He hit top form by winning the New Zealand Spring Shears contest in Waimate last October, then three weeks ago won the Otago Champion title at Balclutha Show and soon after won the South Island Shearer of Year final at Gore.

Last weekend, however, Ferguson’s form slipped slightly and he wasn’t placed in any of the three shows he entered. Perhaps he was preparing himself for tonight.

Cam Ferguson is a full time shearer in Hawkes Bay. He had been working for contractor Kerry Brannigan until half way through this season when he signed up with Neil Waihape of Waipukurau.

During this season Ferguson managed to shear a shed tally of 856 lambs in nine hours, a score that is knocking on the door of the current world record of 866 lambs in nine hours, held by fellow Golden Shears open final contestant, Dion King.

For detailed final results visit http://www.goldenshears.co.nz/results10/index.htm

ENDS

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