Farmer Buick takes it to the big guns at Golden Shears

Farmer Buick takes it to the big guns at Golden Shears

Pongaroa farmer David Buick tonight emerged as Wairarapa’s biggest hope of winning Masterton's Golden Shears Open shearing title in more than 30 years when he headed the 12 qualifiers for tomorrow’s semi-final.

Buick, 35, was the top qualifier from tonight’s Top 30 quarterfinal Shootout, in which all the popular chances made it to the last day.

Among them are defending champion Rowland Smith, World champion Gavin Mutch, four-times winner John Kirkpatrick, 2006 winner Dion King, 2010 winner Cam Ferguson, and King Country icon and 16-times winner David Fagan, whose failure to make the semi-finals last year was one of the biggest surprises in the history of the event.

Most unlucky to miss the cut were quarterfinal 13th and 14th placegetters, Axle Reid, of Taihape, and Phil Wedd, of Napier.

No Wairarapa shearer has ever won the region’s biggest event, which was first held in 1961, the closest having been Rick Pivac, who shore the final six times and was runner-up in 1983. He died in West Australia late last year.

Buick, the 1999 intermediate champion, has shown a determination this year to qualify to represent New Zealand at the World Cham,pionships in Ireland in May, one of the spoils of victory in tomorrow 20-sheep, six-man Golden Shears Open final.

Last year he won the major Apiti Sports title a week before Golden Shears, where he was unable to compete because he was best-man at a friend’s wedding. He repeated his win in that event last Saturday.

The qualifiers, with times and points from the quarterfinals in which shearer shore eight sheep, are: David Buick (Pongaroa) 8min 29.352sec, 32.718pts, 1; Dion King (Hastings) 8min 55.141sec, 32.882pts, 2; Rowland Smith (Hastings) 8min 7.578sec, 33.254pts, 3; Gavin Mutch (Whangamomona and Scotland) 8min 8.75sec, 33.438pts, 4; John Kirkpatrick (Napier) 8min 18.598sec, 33.555pts, 5; Mark Grainger (Te Kuiti) 8min 31.66sec, 33.833pts, 6; Nathan Stratford (Invercargill) 9min 9.092sec, 34.08pts, 7; Murray Henderson (Feilding) 9min 0.314sec, 34.141pts, 8; David Fagan (Te Kuiti) 8min 14.242sec, 34.212pts, 9; Cam Ferguson (Waipawa) 8min 44.118sec, 34.706pts, 10; Tony Coster (Rakaia) 9min 5.867seconds.

Ends

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