New Zealand trifecta at Royal Ulster Show

New Zealand trifecta at Royal Ulster Show

Canterbury shearer Tony Dobbs has made a successful start to his bid to regain the World title he won 22 years ago by triumphing in the Royal Ulster blades shearing final at the Balmoral Show in Northern Ireland.

Dobbs, set for the 16th Golden Shears World Championships next week in the coastal Republic of Ireland town of Gorey, led a Kiwi trifecta in his first competition since arriving in the UK to start practice-shearing in Wales.
Second was non team member Phil Oldfield, of Geraldine, and third was Dobbs’ World Championships teammate, Brian Thomson, of West Melton.

Based in Fairlie, Dobbs took-up competing seriously again at the start of the New Zealand summer, when he won the New Zealand Corriedale bladeshearing title at the Canterbury Show, 18 years after he had last shorn in the event.
No New Zealander has won the World blades shearing title since Dobbs won at the Royal Bath and West Show in England in 1992.

Woolhandling team members Joel Henare and Ronnie Goss are in action in the Royal Ulster championships tonight New Zealand time, and machine shearers Rowland Smith and John Kirkpatrick will be in action tomorrow.

The shearers compete again at the weekend at the Connacht Spring Show, before heading south for the World Championships which open with the Irish All-Nations championship heats next Thursday.

ENDS

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