Two Big Days Of National Shears Titles In Southland

The Southland shearing fraternity had possibly its most successful day in competition with a near-cleansweep of the seven titles at the Northern Southland Community Shears’ New Zealand fullwool shearing and woolhandling championships on Friday.

Opening a big weekend nationally of six shearing sports competitions throughout New Zealand, and on the first of two big days of competition in Southland, it included both Open titles, with Brett Roberts, of Mataura, winning the Open shearing final for a second time, and 2020 Golden Shears Senior woolhandling champion Amber Poihipi, of Ohai, claiming her first Open title.

It was a particularly big weekend for Southland brothers, Josef and Eli Winders, who each had their first-ever wins after several years of trying.

Recently moved home from Southland from the North Island, where he graduated from Waikato University in science and agribusiness, Josef Winders won the Senior fullwool final, while Eli, heading into the last of five years of environmental engineering studies at Waikato, won the Intermediate final at the Winton A and P Show’s Southland Shears and national crossbred lambs shearing and woolhandling championships on Saturday.

A third brother, Gabriel, also shore at the weekend.

Of the other shearing titles at stake on Friday in the Lowther Downs woolshed, near Lumsden, Jack Pringle, of Balclutha, and Emma Martin, of Gore, won the Intermediate and Senior finals respectively.

Krome Elers, of Mataura, won the Senior woolhandling title, and the only winner at Lowther Downs from outside Southland was first-time victor Mikayla Reihana, from Dannevirke, in the Junior woolhandling final.

It was a different story a day later at Winton where both Open titles went to visitors from the North Island.

Te Kuiti shearer Jack Fagan claimed the shearing title father Sir David Fagan won 14 times between 1984 and 2005, when the event was held at Riversdale, while the Open woolhandling final was won by Chelsea Collier, of Hamilton.

In the other lambshearing events at Winton, the Senior final was won by Adam Gordon, of Masterton, and the Junior final by Lydia Thomson, of Rangiora.

The Senior lambs woolhandling final was won by Saskia Tuhakaraina, of Gore, and the Junior final by Tre Sciascia, of Taihape.

Roberts again showed his liking for the big full-wooled sheep when he shore the almost all-Southland Lumsden Open shearing final’s 20 sheep in 18min 2.04sec, winning the race by four seconds from Hemi Braddick, the only shearer from the North Island to make it into the top five, and over whom Roberts claimed victory by 0.779pts in the final count.

Corey Palmer, of Dipton, claimed a surprise third place and New Zealand representatives Leon Samuels and Nathan Stratford, both of Invercargill, were fourth and fifth respectively.

It was the 28-year-old Roberts’ second win in the event, having in 2019 won a final in which all four others were national representatives.

Poihipi’s win in the Open woolhandling came after she had been last of the six qualifying from the heats into the semi-finals.

Fagan’s lambs win at Winton, on top of a national Corriedales title in Christchurch in November and a World lambshearing record three days before Christmas, came mainly through posting the fastest time, more than 40 seconds (worth more than two points) quicker than both runner-up Leon Samuels and third-placed Casey Bailey, of Riverton.

Collier’s win gave her a double in the national title events in Southland, having two years ago won the fullwool event.

The Lumsden events attracted 95 competitors, comprising 61 shearers and 34 woolhandlers, while there were 101 at Winton, comprising 75 shearers and 26 woolhandlers.

Results from the Northern Southland Community Shears New Zealand Fullwool shearing and woolhandling championships at Lumsden on Friday, January 20, 2023:

Shearing:

Open final (20 sheep): Brett Roberts (Mataura) 18min 2.04sec, 60.302prs, 1; Hemi Braddick (Eketahuna) 18min 6.62sec, 61.081pts, 2; Corey Palmer (Dipton) 20min 4.59sec, 64.9795pts, 3; Leon Samuels (Invercargill) 19min 28.84sec, 65.192pts, 4; Nathan Stratford (Invercargill) 18min 56.22sec, 66.011pts, 5.

Senior final (10 sheep): Josef Winders (Invercargill) 12min 1.31sec, 43.0655pts, 1; Alex Clapham (Manchester, England) 12min 23.75sec, 44.4875pts, 2; Adam Gordon (Masterton) 11min 40.21sec, 44.8105pts, 3; Chris Malcolm (Winton) 12min 50.16sec, 48.808pts, 4; Aaron Magee (Raphoe, England) 13min 55.44sec, 51.372pts, 5.

Intermediate final (6 sheep): Jack Pringle (Balclutha) 10min 8.6sec, 36.43pts, 1; Dre Roberts (Mataura) 9min 44.75sec, 36.5708pts, 2; Will Sinclair (Balclutha) 10min 10.03sec, 38.0015pts, 3; Jimme Bonestroo (The Netherlands) 10min 7.5sec, 40.875pts, 4; Jordan White (Balclutha) 10min 50.97sec, 41.0485pts, 5.

Junior final (3 sheep): Emma Martin (Gore) 6min 9.87sec, 22.8268pts, 1; Lydia Thomson (Rangiora) 6min 25.28sec, 24.5973pts, 2; Cody Waihape (Mataura) 6min 50.41sec, 29.8538pts, 3; Lola Hutchinson (-) 8min 45.9sec, 36.9617pts, 4; James Hogan (Woodlands) 7min 30.81sec, 40.8783pts, 5.

Woolhandling:

Open final: Amber Poihipi (Ohai) 109.9pts, 1; Keryn Herbert (Te Kuiti) 116.644pts, 2; Candy Hiri (Mataura) 162.702pts, 3.

Senior final: Krome Elers (Mataura) 100.306pts, 1; Maiden Elers (Mataura) 105.29pts, 2; Saskia Tuhakaraina (Gore) 123.464pts, 3.

Junior final: Mikayla Reihana (Dannevirke) 144.22pts, 1; Lamore Gillies (Waimarama) 158.15pts, 2; Ngahuia Salmond (Te Kuiti) 196.88pts, 3.

Results of the Southland Shears New Zealand Crossbred lambs shearing and woolhandling championships at the Winton A and P Show on Saturday, January 21, 2023:

Shearing:

Open final (20 lambs): Jack Fagan (Te Kuiti) 18min 17.06sec, 62.603pts, 1; Leon Samuels (Invercargill) 18min 58.57sec, 63.2785pts, 2; Casey Bailey (Riverton) 18min 55.81sec, 63.295pts, 3; David Gordon (Masterton) 18min 51.65sec, 64.1825pts, 4; Willy McSkimming (Oamaru) 20min 3.93sec, 68.9465pts, 5.

Senior final (10 lambs): Adam Gordon (Masterton) 11min 1.35sec, Alex Clapham (Manchester, England) 12min 15.44sec, 43.472pts, 2; Josef Winders (Invercargill) 11min 45sec, 44.15pts, 3; James Wilson (Ryall Bush) 12min 3.93sec, 47.8965pts, 4; Chris Malcolm (Winton) 12min 7.78sec, 48.489pts, 5; Reuben King (Kaiapoi) 13min 33.85sec, 49.4925pts, 6.

Intermediate final (7 lambs): Eli Winders (Colac Bay) 11min 30.5sec, 40.9537pts, 1; Jimme Bonestroo (The Netherlands) 11min 25.9sec, 44.0093pts. 2; Jack Pringle (Balclutha) 12min 5.03sec, 41.6801pts, 3; Dre Roberts (Mataura) 12min 4.53sec, 43.6551pts, 4; Jordan White (Balclutha) 11min 51.72sec, 43.7288pts, 5; Cushla Abraham (Masterton) 14min 21.34sec, 50.4956pts, 6.

Junior final (3 lambs): Lydia Thomson (Rangiora) 6min 33.34sec, 26.0003pts, 1; Sion Davis (Wales) 6min 52.32sec, 26.2827pts, 2; Emma Martin (Gore) 8min 27.19sec, 29.0262pts, 3; Cody Waihape (Mataura) 8min 6.07sec, 32.9702pts, 4; Imogen Ogborne (England) 8min 15.11sec, 35.4222pts, 5; Oliver Hogan (Woodlands) 7min 4.32sec, 37.5493pts, 6.

Novice (1 sheep, sleanshear): Laura Green (Lincolnshire, England) 7pts, 1; Georgie Lindsay (Dipton) 8pts, 2; Te Aroha Little (Balclutha) 9pts and Lamore Gillies (Waimarama) 9pts, 3eq.

Woolhandling:

Open final: Chelsea Collier (Hamilton) 51.638pts, 1; Amy Ferguson (Invercargill) 67.5pts, 2; Keryn Herbert (Te Kuiti) 80.75pts, 3.

Senior final: Saskia Tuhakaraina (Gore) 40.418pts, 1; Lashara Maguire-Ratima (Christchurch) 41.806pts, 2; Samantha Allen (Milton) 50.09pts, 3; Charlotte Stuart (Omarama) 50.13pts, 4.

Junior final: Tre Sciascia (Taihape) 37.32pts, 1; Whakapunake (Naki) Maraki (Flaxmere) 49.16pts, 2; Mikayla Reihana (Dannevirke) 53.03pts, 3; Ngahuia Salmond (Te Kuiti) 59.66pts, 4.

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