National Title To Shearer Troy Pyper

A close call but Pyper gets the nod in Winter Comb final

North Canterbury-based Southland shearer Troy Pyper kicked-off the new shearing sports season with a win in the New Zealand Winter Comb Open final in Waimate today(Friday).

But it was close with the victory in a six-man final of 10 merino wethers on the first day of the Waimate Shears New Zealand Spring Shearing and Woolhandling Championships coming by just 0.637pts from New Zealand transtasman tests teammate, event favourite, runner-up and Invercargill shearer Nathan Stratford, who won the Winter Comb title when it was last contested at Omarama in 2009.

"It's just awesome to be competing and seeing everyone happy," he said after a long wait for confirmation at a prizegiving ceremony.

The title has been resurrected this season, giving extra bite to the 53rd Waimate Shears and the new season which has at least eight competitions cancelled because of the coronavirus crisis.

But there’s no rest for Pyper who along with almost 50 others will tomorrow (Saturday) be chasing the New Zealand Spring championships Open title, on the long strongwool of the romney ewes, with perhaps a point to prove having been runner-up in both 2017 and 2018.

Pyper was effectively starting where he left off, winning the last pre-lockdown title at Sefton in March and with nine victories ending the shortened 2019-2020 season as the first South Island shearer to win the Bowen Trophy as No 1 Open shearer since annual national rankings were introduced in 1993.

A previous winner of two New Zealand Corriedale championships Open titles in Christchurch, Pyper was the top-performing New Zealander in both of last season’s transtasman tests, spearheading a Kiwi victory in Masterton in March after Australia had won five in a row over the previous two-and-a-half years.

The first five today have all been New Zealand transtasman tests representatives, with third place going to 2019 national circuit champion Paerata Abraham, of Masterton, fourth to Palmerston shearer Chris Vickers, who had fastest time of 20min 13.56sec, and fifth a blast-from-the-past in Peebles shearer Barry Taylor, who had four tests in 1998-2000, and who with semi-finalist and Rakaia shearer Grant Smith still holds a merino wethers World record shorn in 1994.

Marlborough shearer and contractor Duncan Higgins marked the step-up from Senior class with sicthplace in his first event in the Open class.

Smith had a big moment earlier in the day when he shore in the semi-finals alongside son Alex Smith.

The Senior winter comb final was won comfortably by Duncan Leslie, of Kaka Point, south of Dunedin. Third to finish his five-sheep final, Leslie had easily the best quality and won by a huge margin of almost 16pts from runner-up Hohepa Te Rata-Taituha, of Taumarunui.

The titles were the first of about 17 to be decided at the two championships which have attracted over 170 shearers and woolhandlers.

World teams champion woolhandler Pagan Karauria made it through to Saturday’s Open woolhandling final, with Keryn Herbert, of Te Kuiti, and Gore-based Candy Hiri and Chelsea Collier.

Results from the first days of the 53rd Waimate Shears New Zealand Spring Shearing and Woolhandling Championships on October 9-10, 2020:

Shearing:

Open final (10 sheep): Troy Pyper (Amberley) 20min 42.51sec, 84.6255pts, 1; Nathan Stratford (Invercargill) 22min 27.25sec, 85.2625pts, 2; Paerata Abraham (Masterton) 20min 44.75sec, 90.5375pts, 3; Chris Vickers (Palmerston) 20min 13.56sec, 96.478pts, 4; Barry Taylor (Peebles) 21min 34.75sec, 106.1375pts, 5; Duncan Higgins (Havelock) 28min 2.02sec, 126.501pts, 6.

Senior final (5 sheep): Duncan Leslie (Kaka Point) 16min 31.87sec, 67.3935pts, 1; Hohepa Te Rata-Taituha (Taumarunui) 13min 15.43sec, 84.1715pts, 2; Cody Mann (Kurow) 13min 14.5sec, 86.525ts, 3; Ruka Braddick (Eketahuna) 17min 4.62sec, 90.431pts, 4; Wilton Weeks (Apiti) 17min 16.28sec, 96.614pts, 5; John Carrington (Huntly) 19min 5.34sec, 96.667pts, 6.

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