The Quality Does It As Rowland Smith Sharpens For Golden Shears

The 63rd Golden Shears start in Masterton tomorrow with close to 500 competitors and possibly greater anticipation for more than a decade over its glamour Open shearing championship following yesterday’s win by eight-times winner Rowland Smith at the Hawke’s Bay Autumn Shears in Waipukurau.

Most telling was the quality of the shear as the 38-year-old farmer and agricultural contractor took an afternoon off from his tractor to test the gear for this week’s challenger from hopefuls including David Buick, who won at the Taumarunui Jamboree Shears on Friday, Toa Henderson who won at Apiti on Saturday and defending Golden Shears champion Leon Samuels, winner at the Pahiatua Shears on Sunday.

Hawke’s Bay farmer and agricultural contractor Smith missed the weekend events, and last year’s Golden Shears, while absent from yesterday’s prelude were Henderson and Samuels, the well-travelled Henderson heading to New Plymouth to support his wife and other whanau in their pursuits at Te Matatini before heading to Masterton to join about 90 other shearers in the Open championship heats on Friday.

Thus Tuesday’s event became a showdown between Smith and Buick, who at the age of 45 won the New Zealand Shears Open final in Te Kuiti last April, his first win since being critically injured in a farm accident in October 2021.

Buick won the five-man race, shearing the 20-sheep in 16m 55.72s, but Smith was next off, 15 seconds later, a 0.763pts time points deficit which with quality points still to come would never be enough when the two-metres-tall Smith has his combs and cutters primed to the moment.

“They would have jumped a bit when they saw him turn up,” said one woolshed veteran, and so it was told with Smith’s 1.85 quality points advantage enough to carry the day by over a point – a comfortable margin in the wider picture.

Marlborough shearer Angus Moore was more than two points further away in third place, fourth was Waipawa shearer Axle Reid, who has never won an Open final, and fifth was Hawke’s Bay gun John Kirkpatrick, who at the age of 54 showed he’s still in the frame for a possible fifth Golden Shears Open title.

Southern Hawke’s Bay mum Laura Bradley continued on her winning away to card victory No 9 for the season, the most ever by a female shearer in the second-to-top grade and putting her right in line to become the first woman to win the Senior title at the Golden Shears.

But she was closely followed by Oamaru shearer John Cherrington, Taelor Tarrant, from King Country, and Southland shearer Dre Roberts, with just 1.409pts between the first four.

Te Kuiti’s Keryn Herbert won the Open woolhandling final, her fourth win of the season, but absent was Joel Henare, who is expected to be going for an 11th Golden Shears Open title this week. Also missing were other South Island hopes Pagan Rimene and Foonie Waihape.

RESULTS of the Hawke’s Bay Autumn Shears shearing and woolhandling at Waipukurau on Tuesday, February 25, 2025:

Shearing:

Open final (20 sheep): Rowland Smith (Maraekakaho) 17m 10.97s, 56.399pts, 1; David Buick (Pongaroa) 16m 55.72s, 57.486pts, 2; Angus Moore (Ward) 17m 35.32s, 59.616pts, 3; Axle Reid (Taihape/Waipawa) 18m 6.86s, 60.983pts, 4; John Kirkpatrick (Pakipaki) 18m 5.72s, 61.236pts, 5.

Senior final (10 sheep): Laura Bradley (Papatawa) 13m 15.75s, 47.088pts, 1; John Cherrington (Oamaru) 13m 5.43s, 47.972pts, 2; Taelor Tarrant (Mapiu) 12m 23.51s, 48.376pts, 3; Dre Roberts (Mataura)13m 11.94s, 48.497pts, 4; Blake Mitchell (Patea) 13m 7.81s, 51.491pts, 5.

Intermediate final (6 sheep): Kaivah Cooper (Napier) 7m 47.75s, 29.888pts, 1; Ryka Swann (Wairoa) 7m 13.85s, 32.193pts, 2; Lachie Cameron (Pohangina) 8m 46.69s, 33.335pts, 3; Paddy Dunne (Wicklow, Ireland) 7m 36.75s, 33.338pts, 4; Thomas Marchant (Maramarua) 8m 57.5s, 36.708pts, 5.

Junior final (4 sheep): Jodiesha Kirkpatrick (Gisborne) 6m 3.22s, 24.661pts, 1; Tye Meikle (Oamaru) 5m 53.25s, 25.163pts, 2; Sean Dunne (Wicklow, Ireland) 6m 52.81s, 30.141pts, 3; Waiari Puna (Napier) 7m 22.32s, 33.866pts, 4; Ashlin Swann (Wairoa) 8m 51.53s, 36.327pts, 5.

Woolhandling:

Open final: Keryn Herbert (Te Kuiti) 54.42pts, 1; Te Anna Phillips (Taumarunui) 56.28pts, 2; Ricci Stevens (Napier) 66.56pts, 3; Vinniye Phillips (Taumarunui) 70.65pts, 4; Nova Kumeroa (Mataura) 107.28pts, 5.

Senior final: Chloe Henderson (Hunteville) 54.1pts, 1; Tatijana Keefe (Raupunga) 55.16pts, 2; Kelly Barrett (Kawhia) 59.85pts, 3; Amy Bell (Weber) 62.31pts, 4; Mere Maraki (Flaxmere) 74.78pts, 5.

Junior final: Jodiesha Kirkpatrick (Gisborne) 45.47pts, 1; Waiari Puna (Napier) 48.738pts, 2; Jayda Millanta (Tauranga) 50.1pts, 3; Laura Bradley (Papatawa) 51.15pts, 4; Paige Marshall 69.4pts, 5.

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