Hewes huge win at Royal Bath and West

June 6, 2018

A Waikato teenager has had the biggest success of his short shearing career by winning an Intermediate title at the Golden Shears – of Great Britain.

Trent Hewes, 19, who was fifth in the New Zealand Golden Shears Intermediate final in Masterton in March and sixth at the New Zealand championships in Te Te Kuitifive weeks later, won his title in a six-man final at the Royal Bath and West Show in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, England, on Friday.

He is pictured in the New Zealand championships final in April, and at the show in England with close friend and fourth placegetter Richie Paulsen, of Glen Murray, Waikato.

It was the best of several New Zealand performances in finals at England’s premiuer shearing nd woolhandling championships, including Tegwyn Bradley, of Woodville, runner-up in his bid to add the UK Golden Shears title to the New Zealand Golden Shears title he won in March, Allan Oldfield, of Geraldine, runner-up in his defence of the Blades title, and Matt Smith, from Northland and Hawke’s Bay but now based in Cornwall, finishing third in the England National Championship final.

It was Hewes’ first competition abroad, and he had good New Zealand company, with Paulsen and 2018 New Zealand Golden Shears Junior champion Brook Hamerton, from Ruawai in Northland, both also in the final.

Paulsen won the race, shearing the 8 sheep in 10min 45sec and beating next-man-off Hewes by 19 seconds.

“I had a rough first sheep,” said Hewes. “But I seemed to stay relaxed, and I had good board points. When I left the board I wasn’t confident, but I knew I’d had a good shear.”

The judges agreed on the quality of the shearing on the board and he had the best board points, and said after what was only his third Intermediate final: “I’m very stoked with the win.”

Despite having only the fourth-best points in the pen judging, the combination of time and quality points gave him a win by 2.625pts from runner-up James Lewis, of Hereford, England.

Hewes, who had four years in Tuakau College’s first fifteen at rugby and plays for Pukekohe Under 21s when he can, doesn’t come from a shearing family.

But he’s got the shearing “bug,” five years after shearing his first sheep at the age of 14, encouraged by friends and Glen Murray farmers John and Joanne Fyers.

Twin brother Blake, who also had a promising shearing career, has, however, turned his back on the life of a travelling woolshed craftsman to take up building as a trade.

Trent Hewes did a shearing course with trainers Dean Te Huia and Sonny Marshall near Ngaruawahia in 2015, and started working for Waikaretu contractors and shearing World record breakers Sam and Emily Welch, doing his first 100 daily tally while working with Welch’s father, Phillip Woodward and anotherr shearer in a woolshed near Clevedon.

“I shore 156 that day, and I felt it for sure,” he said.

He won his first Junior final at Te Puke in 2016, and a few weeks later won an A-grade show title at Kumeu, but had to wait for more than two years till the next win on Friday.

Despite having shorn just three Intermediate grade finals he says he’s hoping to step-up to Senior class in the New Zealand season starting in October.

He and Paulsen are shearing for Somerset contractor James Tucker and Hewes said: “I am anjoying the UK shearing. It’s a lot different than at home but great experience so far, and I’m having a lot of fun.”

The Senior shearing final in which Bradley was runner-up was won by John Malseed, from Bristol and who while shearing in New Zealand won the Interemediate final at Lumsden in January.

Oldfield was beaten by veteran England World championships representative George Mudge in the Blades final, and the winner of the England National in which Smith was third was Adam Berry. There was a major surprise in the UK Golden Shears Open final, in which there were ni New Zealand qualifiers, Connor had a stunning win by more than four points over runner-up and Welsh international Richard Jones.

Gwenan Paewai, of Wales, won the Open woolhandling final, in which 2014 World champion Hilary Bond, of England, was runner-up, and the England team of Bond and Alice Derryman won the Six Nations Woolhandling Championship.

Results featuring New Zealand competitors at the Royal Bath and West Show, Shepton Mallet, Somerset, on May 31-June 1, 2018:

Golden Shears UK Senior final (10 sheep): John Malseed (Bristol, England), 10min 20sec, 39.3pts, 1; Tegwyn Bradley (Woodville, NZ) 8min 40sec, 40.5pts, 2; Ross Thomson (Dawlish, England) 10min, 40.8pts, 3; Ash Jones (Llangollen, Wales) 9min 28sec, 41.1pts, 4; Gilles Grancher (France) 10min 5sec, 43.45pts, 5; Owen Davies (Presteigne, Wales) 10min 42sec, 44.4pts, 6.

Golden Shears UK Intermediate final (8 sheep): Trent Hewes (Glen Murray, NZ) 11min 4sec, 46.575pts, 1; James Lewis (Hereford, England) 12min 39sec, 49.2pts, 2; Jake Crabb (Launceston, England) 12min 40sec, 50.25pts, 3; Richie Paulsen (Glen Murray, NZ) 10min 45sec, 52.375pts, 4; Ben Doggrell (Sherborne, England) 11min 9sec, 54.075pts, 5; Brook Hamerton (Ruawai/Hastings, NZ) 13min 22sec, 56.225pts, 6.

Golden Shears UK Blades final (5 sheep): George Mudge (England) 18min 30sec, 79pts, 1; Allan Oldfield (Geraldine, NZ) 18min 55sec, 84.65pts, 2; Clive Hamer (Llanidloes, Wales) 20min 5sec, 90.95pts, 3; Rheinallt Hughes (Wales) 21min 40sec, 100.7pts, 4; Edward Goodfellow (Englan) 22min 46sec, 101.3pts, 5; Andrew Wear (England) 25min 48sec, 105.7pts, 6.

English National final (20 sheep): Adam Berry 17min 41sec, 64.05pts, 1; Stuart Connor 17min 53sec, 64.15pts, 2; Matt Smith (NZ) 17min 34sec, 64.5pts, 3; Antony Rooke 18min 37sec, 68.4pts, 4; Jon Roberts 10min 10sec, 71.85pts, 5; Dean Nelmes 19min, 76.1pts, 6.

ends

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