Kirky celebrates 25 years with another win

Kirky celebrates 25 years with another win

Champion shearer John Kirkpatrick continued to show advancing years are no bar to winning form as he won the Wairarapa A and P Show Open final on Aaturday.

The 49-year-old’s third win in a fortnight came in four-man final in which there were two heir apparents who were yet to be born when Kirkpatrick had his first Open final win 25 years ago, also at the Wairarapa show.

The Hawke’s Bay gun has now had at least 183 wins in the top class, including 8 in the Wairarapa final, while runner-up David Gordon, of Masterton, and fourth-placed Paraki Puna, of Napier, had had had just one Open final appearance between them.

They reached the final after the surprise semi-final eliminations of 2019 New Zealand team members Cam Ferguson, of Waipawa, and David Buick, of Pongaroa.

Gordon, who won the Golden Shears Novice title in Masterton at the age of 13 in 2010, andMarch year won the New Zealand Championships Senior final in Te Kuiti, was 5th in his first final 7 days earlier, won by Kirkpatrick at the Warrnambool show in Australia.

On Saturday he stepped-up another notch when he took the challenge to Kirkpatrick on the full-wooled ewes in testing heat at the Clareville Showgrounds, near Carterton, at one stage having about half-a-sheep up on the rest of the field and not being reined-in by Kirkpatrick until into the second half of the race.

From there Kirkpatrick, with multiple World, Golden Shears and New Zealand titles to his name, was all class, pulling away to be first off the board by 26 seconds and claim the win by 2.9pts.

While Kirkpatrick had the best time and outside penalties, there was almost nothing in the jobs on the shearing board, with Kirkpatrick, Gordon and third placegetter Murray Henderson, of Halcombe, each averaging 1.86pts, and Puna 2pts.

Gordon was part of a unique family achievement which saw sister Samantha Gordon take third place in the Open woolhandling in which 2010 World champions Sheree Alabaster, of Taihape, and Keryn Herbert, of Te Kuiti, were first and second respectively.

It was Alabaster’s third Wairarapa show win in a row, and the 66th individual win of her Open woolhandling career now in its 17th season. But, a winner of eight New Zealand Open finals in Ter Kuiti and at least 9 finals at competitions in Wairarapa she has still not won a Golden Shears title in Masterton.

Masterton shearer Sean Gouk broke-through for his first Senior final win in New Zealand after two seasons of trying since winning the 2017 New Zealand Championships Intermediate final. Gouk had had a win in Ireland in 2018 and his win today blocked Mangamahu shearer blocked Simon Goss’s hopes of a third win in a row after victories at Gisborne and Hastings over the previous fortnight.

Mangamahu shearer Daniel Biggs made it three-from-three in North Island Intermediate competitions this season, and the Junior final was won by Heath Barnsdall, of Piopio.

The Senior woolhandling final was won by Ataneta Puna, of Napier, in what was a rare competition performance since winning the Golden Shears Junior title in 2011.

Open shearer Buick’s son, Michael, won both the Novice shearing and woolhandling events.

RESULTS from the Wairarapa A and P show shears at Clareville, Carterton, on Saturday, November 2, 2019:

Shearing:

Open final (15 sheep): John Kirkpatrick (Pakipaki) 15min 21sec, 55.37pts, 1; David Gordon (Masterton) 15min 47sec, 58.27pts, 1; Murray Henderson (Halcombe) 16min 13sec, 60.513pts, 3; Paraki Puna (Napier) 16min 5sec, 61.45pts, 4.

Senior final (8 sheep): Sean Gouk (Masterton) 11min 50sec, 48pts, 1; Simon Goss (Mangamahu) 11min 41sec, 49.25pts, 2; Paora Moanaroa (Eketahuna) 12min 55sec, 53.85pts, 3; Daniel Seed (Woodville) 12min 35sec, 54.05pts, 4.

Intermediate final (6 sheep): Daniel Biggs (Mangamahu) 7min 34sec, 28.4pts, 1; Matt Hunt (Waikaka) 7min 53sec, 38.05pts, 2; Topia Barrowcliffe (Piopio) 9min 23sec, 42.15pts, 3; Alex Hokianga (Hastings) 10min 54sec, 48.9pts, 4.

Junior final (4 sheep): Heath Barnsdall (Piopio) 10min 19sec, 42.95pts, 1; Matene Munday (-) 9min 24sec, 44.2pts, 3; Renee Biggs (Mangamahu) 15min 48sec, 59.9pts, 4.

Novice (1 sheep): Michael Buick (Pongaroa) 29.65sec, 1; Haeora King (Matawai) 5min 27sec, 31.35pts, 2; Maureen Chaffey (Maraekakaho) 5min 20sec, 44pts, 3; Erueti King (Matawai) 7min 56sec, 53.8pts, 4.

Woolhandling:

Open final: Sheree Alabaster (Taihape) 95.7pts, 1; Keryn Herbert (Te Kuiti) 118.144pts, 2; Samantha Gordon (Masterton) 120.282pts, 3.

Senior final: Ataneta Puna (Napier) 97.668pts, 1; Jasmin Tipoki (Taumarunui) 103.938pts, 2; Bianca Hawea (Masterton) 112.894pts, 3.

Junior final: Paeone Dean (Masterton) 90.432pts, 1; Awhina Edmonds (Masterton) 107.15pts, 2; Shyla Karaitiana (Masterton) 127.126pts, 3.

Novice: Michael Buick (Ponngaroa) 93.482pts, 1; Topia Barrowcliffe (Piopio) 105.12pts, 2; Joseph Gordon (Masterton) 115.15pts, 3; Hannah Miller (-) 137.682pts, 4.

ENDS

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