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Fagan wins 15th national title - 31 years after the first

Fagan wins 15th national title - 31 years after the first

Shearing icon David Fagan rounded-off possibly a record span of New Zealand sports titles on Saturday when he won the national crossbred lambshearing championship – 31 years after his first win in the event.

More than 1400km from his Te Kuiti home, the 53-year-old Fagan won a six-man final at the Winton A and P Show’s Southland Shears by just 0.55pts from home-show favourite Nathan Stratford, of Invercargill.

Fagan shore his 20 lambs in 18min 16sec, conceding time points only to Tuatapere shearer Leon Samuels, who finished in 18min 10sec.

The King Country gun also produced the best points in judging on the shearing board and while not having the best finishing result in the pens it was enough to edge Stratford, who had conceded more than 4 time points in shearing his 20 lambs in 19 43sec.

Fagan conceded the outcome was in doubt right up to the announcement, at a show where Stratford was presented with his Shearing Sports New Zealand Masters Award and where the Southland gun was going for two-in-a-row after winning the longwool final at Lumsden 24 hours earlier.

“It was nice to win in Southland, as this will be my last season competing, probably,” he said. “I want to be competitive, and not go out whern I’m not.”

“Southland has been a happy hunting ground for me over the years, both with the competitions and with the the World records,” said Fagan, who set three of his nine-hour ewes and lambs records in the region in the early 1990s.

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Fagan left Te Kuiti with son Jack before 4am on Friday, but still managed to finish runner-up to Stratford in the Lumsden event 12 hours later, but it was especially pleasing to see Jack have his first Open speedshear win that night, at the age of 22..

But it was the father back on top in the speedshear race, adding a hotel event win on Saturday night to the show title won earlier in the day. They were back on the road about 4am Sunday.

Fagan, whose first Open-class win at the Golden Shears in Masterton was an invitation lambshear in 1983, first won the national crossbred lambshearing title at the now long-gone Riversdale Shears in 1984.

Saturday’s victory was his 15th in the event, including when it was held at Mossburn, and his last three in 2003-2005 when it was held at Lumsden.

He has now won 631 Open-class finals worldwide, and will make what he expects to be his last New Zealand team appearances in two tests against Wales over the next six weeks..

Results from the New Zealand Crossbred Lambshearing Championships at the Southland Shears, Winton A and P Show, on Saturday, January 17, 2015:

Open final (20 lambs): David Fagan (Te Kuiti) 18min 16sec, 69.2pts, 1; Nathan Stratford (Invercargill) 19min 43sec, 69.75pts, 2; Leon Samuels (Tuatapere) 18min 10sec, 70.5pts, 3; Grant Smith (Rakaia) 20min 54sec, 74.55pts, 4; Tony Coster (Rakaia) 20min 57sec, 75.95pts, 5; Andy Mainland (Invercargill) 19min 37sec, 78.85pts, 6.

Senior final (12 lambs): Ethan Pankhurst (Masterton) 13min 14sec, 53.2pts, 1; Linton Palmer (Dipton) 16min 14sec, 59.2pts, 2; Stewart Mainland (Invercargill) 15min 31sec, 63.717pts, 3; Rob Mainland (Invercargill) 18min 32sec, 63.933pts, 4; Dylan McGruddy (Masterton) 67.317pts, 5; Andrew Leith (Dipton) 15min 43sec, 71.4pts, 6.

Intermediate final (8 lambs): Marley Waihape (Mataura) 12min 32sec, 49.225pts, 1; Pierre Grancher (France) 14min 15sec, 54.125pts, 2; Lionel Taumata (Gore) 13min 18sec, 56.025pts, 3; Max Winders (-) 12min 12sec, 56.85pts, 4; Hugh De Lacy (Fernside) 16min, 60.375pts, 5; Pagan Rimene (Masterton) 15min 41sec, 64.175pts, 6.

Junior final (5 lambs): Emily Te Kapa (Scotland) 12min 19sec, 47.35pts, 1; Rob Hubber (Lumsden) 11min 42sec, 54.1pts, 2; Kelly Macdonald (Lake Hawea) 12min 37sec, 54.25pts, 3; Jade Cooper (Riverton) 13min 39sec, 57.35pts, 4; Jess Barclay (Winton) 12min 42sec, 58.9pts, 5; Jay Parker (North Range) 14min 39sec, 61.15pts, 6.

Novice (1 lamb): Sarah Higgins (Havelock) 4min 5sec, 66.25pts, 1; Natasha McConnell 3min 22sec, 75.1pts, 2; Caleb Metternich (Winton) 3min 37sec, 77.85pts, 3; Dellwyn Malcolm (Heddon Bush) 2min 30sec, 123.5pts, 4.

ENDS


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