Rowland Smith's Second Win In Shears Comeback

Former World champion Hawke’s Bay shearer Rowland Smith has bounced-back from almost a year away from the competition scene by winning his second final in a week as he prepares for a near year-long New Zealand team selection series ahead of the 2026 World championships.

The 38-year-old, two-metres-tall Smith further marked his line in the sand when he won A-grade show the Taihape Shears’ Open final on Saturday for a 10th time, seven days after winning the Wairoa A and P show title in his first competition since surgery on a hip injury that forced his late withdrawal from the 2024 Golden Shears.

Again Smith scored the best quality points to preserve the title’s reputation for being won only by the best, with World champions having won the Taihape final in 23 of the last 25 years.

Smith, who won the World title in Ireland in 2014, had a 1.125pts win over Pongaroa shearer David Buick, who the previous weekend won three finals on different wool types in three days.

But he was just third to finish the six-man final over 20 sheep each, almost 19 seconds after first-man-off, defending champion and Northland shearer Toa Henderson, the No 1-ranked Open shearer last season and who had also won the previous weekend.

All three are entered in the World championships selection series which starts at the Southern Shears in Gore on February 15 and ends at the Rangitikei Shearing Sports in Marton on January 31 next year.

Smith was 0.79pts behind Henderson in being second qualifier from the heats, that had 49 shearers, and headed the 18 semi-finalists to be top qualifier for the final, where he had the best pen and total quality points.

Masterton shearer Paerata Abraham had possibly his best result in an A-grade strongwool ewes final in finishing third, and Hawke’s Bay-based former Taihape shearer Axle Reid had a particularly pleasing outcome in scoring the best board points in finishing fifth in his first Taihape Open final in 19 years of trying.

Taumarunui shearer Taelor Tarrant had a breakthrough first Senior win, after being top qualifier for the seven-sheep final in which he was first to finish, 26 seconds clear of second-man-off Blake Mitchell, of Patea.

Form competitors Laura Bradley, of Papatawa, and Bruce Grace, from Wairoa, both missed out on places in the final.

Shearers from overseas again made their presence fell, with Irish shearer Adam Killeen and Scotsman Lewis Mackay first and second respectively in the Intermediate final, and Sion Griffiths, from Wales winning the Junior final. The Novice event was won by Jairus Hiroti, from Raetihi.

The first three in the Open woolhandling final were all chasing their first win in the top grade, honours going to Vinniye Phillips, of Taumarunui, who won the 2024 Golden Shears Senior title on the way to becoming the No 1-ranked Senior woolhandler nationwide last season.

Ngaio Hanson, of Eketahuna, was second and third was versatile Napier competitor Ricci Stevens, who also reached the Open shearing semi-finals.

All three beat defending champion and eight-times winner Keryn Herbert, of Te Kuiti, who was fourth, while Phillips’ sister, Te Anna, was fifth.

Nohokainga Maraki, of Flaxmere, scored her second Senior woolhandling title of the season, having won the season’s first North Island title at Gisborne in October, Bradley landed a Junior woolhandling title to go with five Senior shearing titles already claimed this season, and the Novice woolhandling was won by Caitlin Murphy, of Pongaroa.

The shears, continuing despite the recess of the Taihape A and P Show, attracted over 210 competitors, the biggest number in a one-day show this season, comprising 159 shearers and 55 entries in the woolhandling, with 1140 sheep shorn during the day.

Meanwhile there were just 21 competitors at the shearing-only Tapawera Shears near Wakefield, south of Nelson, where North Otago farmer Justin Meikle and teenaged son Tye scored their fourth double-act triumph of the season.

They won the Open and Junior events respectively, a repeat of results earlier in the season at the Ellesmere, Marlborough and Duvauchelle A and P shows.

At 58, Justin Meikle sheared his 20-sheep final in 19m 4.76s, the fourth time in his four wins that he has gone under a minute a sheep. Floyd Haare, from Southland but based in the Tasman area, was 17 seconds quicker but Meikle’s quality carried him to victory by 2.32pts and denied Haare a repeat of a win he had a week earlier at Takaka.

When it came to quality Meikle didn’t have it all his own way, being beaten by his 16-year-old son in the show’s Cleanshear.

Oamaru shearer John Cherrington won the Senior event, his fourth win of the season and backing-up immediately from a win at the New Zealand Crossbred Lambs championships in Southland a week earlier. The Intermediate final was won by Dylan Hamlin, of Bainham, while third placegetter Kimberley Whalon (nee Maclean) beat three others in a women’s Cleanshear.

There have now been 23 shows, with 31 scheduled for the remainder of the season, starting with the Dannevirke A and P Show’s shearing and woolhandling championships on Friday, and on Saturday the Rangitikei Shearing Sports shearing and woolhandling championships at Marton, including the fourth round of the PGG Wrightson Vetmed National Shearing Circuit, and the Inangahua A and P Show’s Reefton Shears, including the first round of the World championships New Zealand team selection blad shearing.

RESULTS from the Taihape Shears on Saturday, January 25, 2025:

Shearing:

Open final (20 sheep): Rowland Smith (Maraekakaho) 16m 8.25s, 54.8625pts, 1; David Buick (Pongaroa) 16m 24.75s, 55.9875pts, 2; Paerata Abraham (Masterton) 15m 59.32s, 57.116pts, 3; Mark Grainger (Te Kuiti) 16m 47.31s, 58.4655pts, 4; Axle Reid (Taihape/Waipukurau) 17m 40.31s, 60.0155pts, 5; Toa Henderson (Kaiwaka) 15m 49.62s, 62.431pts, 6.

Senior final (7 sheep): Taelor Tarrant (Taumarunui) 7m 14.75s, 32.1661pts, 1; Daniel Seed (Woodville) 8m 30.12s, 32.7917pts, 2; Ethan Fladgate (Te Awamutu) 7m 56.38s, 34.1047pts, 3; Josh Devane (Taihape) 9m 17.63s, 34.1672pts, 4; Alex Butler (Ballyvoy, Northern Ireland) 8m 6.56s, 36.328pts, 5; Blake Mitchell (Patea) 7m 40.49s, 6.

Intermediate final (6 sheep): Adam Killeen (Claremorris, Mayo, Ireland) 7m 30.66s, 32.8663pts, 1; Lewis Mackay (Sutherland, Scotland) 7m 39.04s, 35.6187pts, 2; Heath Barnsdall (Aria) 7m 36.94s, 36.6803pts, 3; Paddy Dunne (Wicklow, Ireland) 7m 24.47s, 37.8002pts, 4; Ryka Swann (Wairoa) 7m 29.34s, 38.967pts, 5; Thomas Marchant (Maramarua) 8m 36.68s, 44.334pts, 6.

Junior final (4 sheep): Sion Griffiths (Aberystwyth, Wales) 7m 15.56s, 25.528pts, 1; Tom Clarkson (Martinborough) 6m 24.31s, 29.9655pts, 2; Sonya Fagan (Otorohanga) 7m 52.71s, 31.3655pts, 3; Shaun Dunne (Wicklow, Ireland) 8m 20.66s, 32.283pts, 4; Tana Maguire (Piopio) 7m 1.34s, 32.817pts, 5; Chloe Bingham (Port Waikato) 10m 23.88s, 35.944pts, 6.

Novice (1 sheep): Jairus Hiroti (Raetihi) 2m 23s, 17.15pts, 1; Dominie Chetwynd (Crickhowell, Wales) 3m 47s, 18.35pts, 2; Holly Bird (Taihape) 4m 15s, 21.75pts, 3; Cam Henson (Woodville) 2m 57s, 23.85pts, 4; Mac Foreman (Pahiatua) 4m 24s, 26.2pts, 5; Mary Lucas Ridge (Chulmleigh, England) 3m 27s, 26.35pts, 6.

Woolhandling:

Open final: Vinniye Phillips (Taumarunui) 47.75pts, 1; Ngaio Hanson (Eketahuna) 60.28pts, 2; Ricci Stevens (Napier) 60.844pts, 3; Keryn Herbert (Te Kuiti) 61.72pts, 4; Te Anna Phillips (Taumarunui) 76.78pts, 5.

Senior final: Nohokainga Maraki (Flaxmere) 52.62pts, 1; Chloe Henderson (Hunterville) 54.5pts, 2; Conan Harmon (Masterton) 56.56pts, 3; Te Whetu Brown (Wairoa) 57.07pts, 4; Amy Bell (Weber) 70.53pts, 5.

Junior final: Laura Bradley (Papatawa) 32.31pts, 1; Capree Wallace (Taihape) 42.03pts, 2; Kayla Ferguson (Waipawa) 43.84pts, 3; Paige Marshall (Taumarunui) 53.9pts, 4; Eleri Bradley (Woodville) 57.732pts, 5.

Novice: Caitlin Murphy (Pongaroa) 67.31pts, 1; Cari 69.78pts, 2; Jessica Kendrick (Feilding) 94.25pts, 3; Amy McNeil (Inverness, Scotland) 100.08pts, 4; Amelia Player ( -) 106.19pts, 5..

RESULTS from the Tapawera Shears, near Nelson, on Saturday, January 25, 2025:

Open final (20 sheep): Justin Meikle (Oamaru) 19m 4.75s, 63.84pts, 1; Floyd Haare (Ohai/Bainham) 18m 47.28s, 66.16pts, 2; Duncan Higgins (Blenheim) 21m 58.53s, 76.03pts, 3; Robert Herbert (Kaikoura) 22m 37.07s, 79.85pts, 4.

Open Plate (8 sheep): Thomas Lambert (Christchurch) 10m 2.05s, 36.6pts, 1; Nick Nalder (Takaka) 8m 48.38s, 36.79pts, 2; Chris Jones (Blenheim) 9m 7.37s, 37.12pts, 3; Baden Barker (Tapawera) 10m 35.4s, 39.02pts, 4.

Senior final (8 sheep): John Cherrington (Oamaru) 13m 41.46s, 50.32pts, 1; Timo Hicks (Tapawera) 13m 23.38s, 52.17pts, 2; Sam Hodgkinson (Tapawera) 13m 19.22s, 53.34pts, 3; Mark Rogers (Brightwater) 17m 56.41s, 65.32pts, 4.

Intermediate final (6 sheep): Dylan Hamlin (Bainham) 9m 33.47s, 33.84pts, 1; Brendon Hansen (Ohai) 9m 5.81s, 36.79pts, 2; Kimberley Whalon (Motueka/Nelson) 10m 53.71s, 37.52pts, 3; Ryan Hodgkinson (Tapawera) 4m 40.68s, 41.03pts, 4.

Junior final (3 sheep): Tye Meikle (Oamaru) 6m 26.72s, 24.34pts, 1; Sam Maclean (Hope) 7m 50.65s, 41.2pts, 2; Katie Hicks (Tapawera) 8m 55.75s, 51.79pts, 3.

Cleanshear (2 sheep): Tye Meikle (Oamaru) 2.5pts, 1; Dylan Hamlin (Bainham) 3pts, 2; Justin Meikle (Oamaru) 4pts, 3; Kimberley Whalon (Motueka/Nelson) 6pts, 4.

Women’s cleanshear (2 sheep): Kimberley Whalon (Motueka/Nelson) 6pts, 1; Pam Irvine (Tapawera) 25pts, 2; Katie Hicks (Tapawera) 26pts, 3.

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