Counties Shears Cancelled, But The Other Shows Will Go On

The 2021 Counties Shears are off as a result of the cancellation of the Franklin A and P Show which was to have been held in Pukekohe in mid-February.

The cancellation of the Shears, which had been scheduled for February 21, the Sunday of the Show, was confirmed by competition organiser Emily Welch.

But she said there will be a speedshear on the Saturday (February 20), during what the A and P Society is calling a smaller-scale Franklin Rural Showcase.

It will remain a busy weekend on the Shearing Sports New Zealand calendar, which after a five-week break at the height of the mainshear in the woolsheds, cranks-up again with shearing-only competition the Peninsula Duvauchelle Shears at the Duvauchelle A and P Show next Saturday(January 9).

The following Friday-Saturday(January 15-16) will feature fivex competitions spread from Lumsden and the national crossbred championships in Winton in the far south to Kaikohe in the north.

The weekend of the Counties show is also among the busiest, with four shows from Gore in the south to Paparoa in the north.

There will be at least one competition every weekend for the next three months, with features including shearing and woolhandling competitions the Otago Shears in Balclutha on February 13, the Southern Shears in Gore on February 19-20, the Golden Shears in Masterton on March 4-6, and the season-ending New Zealand Shears in Te Kuiti on April 8-10.

The Counties Shears has for many years highlighted the lengths top competitors will go to in the buildiup to the Golden Shears, the first four in last year’s Open final having competed in Gore less than 24 hours earlier.

The Pukekohe championships become the 9th competition cancelled in the 2020-2021 season because of the uncertainty of the Covid-19 crisis, all but one of them because of the cancellation of the A and P shows of which they were apart. Last season finished early because of the cancellation of 9 other shows as the Covid-19 alerts and lockdown took effect in March.

The Shearing Sports New Zealand calendar for the remainder of the 2020-2021 season is:

January 9 (Sat): Duvauchelle A and P Show, at Duvauchelle.

January 15 (Fri): Northern Southland Community Shears, at Selby’s woolshed, Lumsden.

January 16 (Sat): Kaikohe A, P, and I Show, at Kaikohe; Wairoa A and P Show, at Wairoa; Golden Bay A and P Show, at Takaka; Southland Shears, at Winton A and P Show.

January 23 (Sat): Tapawera Sports, at Tapawera.

January 24 (Sun): Horowhenua A, P and I Show, at Levin.

January 30 (Sat): Taihape and Districts A and P Show, at Taihape.

January 31 (Sun): Rotorua A and P Show, at Ngongotaha.

February 5 (Fri): Dannevirke A and P Show, at Dannevirke.

February 6 (Sat): North Kaipara A and P Show, at Paparoa; Aria Waitangi Day Sports, at Aria; Reefton Shears, at Reefton.

February 7 (Sun): Rangitikei Shearing Sports (National Circuit, Rd 4), at Marton

February 13 (Sat): Northern Wairoa A and P Show, at Arapohue; Otago Shears, at Balclutha

February 19-20 (Fri-Sat): Southern Shears, at Gore.

February 20 (Sat): North Hokianga A and P Show, at Broadwood; Ohura Sports, at Ohura; Murchison A and P Show, at Murchison.

February 26 (Fri): Taumarunui Shears

February 27 (Sat): Apiti Sports Shears, at Apiti; Kaikoura A and P Show, at Kaikoura.

February 28 (Sun): Pahiatua Shears (National Circuit, Rd 5), at Mangaone Valley Rd.

March 3 (Wed): Pre-Shears Woolhandling, at Mikimiki.

March 4-6 (Thur-Sat): 61st Golden Shears International Championships, at Masterton.

March 6 (Sat): Amuri A and P Show, at Rotherham.

March 13 (Sat): Kumeu A and H Show, at Kumeu; Cheviot A and P Show, at Cheviot; Mayfield A and P Show, at Mayfield.

March 20 (Sat): Warkworth A and P Show, at Warkworth; Waimarino Sports, at Raetihi; Methven Lamb Shears, at Methven.

March 21 (Sun): Sefton Shears, at Sefton

March 27 (Sat): Waitomo Caves Sports, at Waitomo.

March 28 (Sun): Flaxbourne A and P Show, at Ward.

April 2-3 (Fri-Sat): Royal Easter Show, at Auckland.

April 3 (Sat): Oxford A and P Show, at Oxford.

April 5 (Mon): MacKenzie Shears, at Fairlie.

April 8-10 (Thu-Sat): New Zealand Shears, at Te Kuiti.

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