Stratford rounds-off pre-Xmas with Tapanui win

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From Doug Laing, media officer, Shearing Sports New Zealand

November 21, 2016

Dipton shearer Linton Palmer, winner of the Senior final at the West Otago A and P Show shearing championships at Tapanui on Saturday. He was pictured at the Canterbury Show eight days earlier.

Stratford rounds-off pre-Xmas with Tapanui win

Newly-selected World Championships representative Nathan Stratford continued his domination of South Island events this season and in particular the Tapanui stand when he retained the Open title at the West Otago A and P Show on Saturday.

It was his 7th win in the event in 9 years, and 11th overall in an Open career now in its 20th season, having previously won the Junior final in 1992 and Senior final in 1994.

It was also his 6th win this year, starting with his victory in the New Zealand Merino Championships final at Alexandra on October 1, when he ended the six-year domination of the event by West Australian shearer Damien Boyle.

Missing the New Zealand Spring Shears at Waimate while on national duty in Australia a week later, Stratford then won at Ellesmere and Ashburton before a near all-conquering stint at the Canterbury Show where he won the Canterbury Circuit and NZ Corriedale Championships double, claimed individual honours in a Canterbury Shears-Queensland match and claimed his place at the World Championships in home-town Invercargill on February 8-11 by finishing second in the New Zealand team selection series final.

With Darin Forde and Dion Morrell eliminated in the semi-finals along with Abraham Berkelaar, who has recently moved to Tuatapere, was a comfortable winner of the final with best time, board and pen points to claim victory by just over 4pts from Gore shearer Ringakaha Paewai, who had also been runner-up to Stratford at Ashburton three weeks ago.

Linton Palmer, of Dipton, backed-up a win at Pleasant Point and a fourth placing in Christchurch in the last fortnight by snatching a narrow win in Saturday’s Senior final, beating Jade Maguire-Ratima, of Winton, by just over five hundredths of a point, while Chris Malcolm, of Winton, followed a second placing at Pleasant Point by winning the Intermediate final.

It was the last day of pre-Christmas competition in the South Island, where the next competition will be the Peninsula Duvauchelle Shear on January 14.

Results of the West Otago A and P Show shearing championships at Tapanui on Saturday, November 19, 2016:

Open final (10 sheep): Nathan Stratford (Invercargill) 11min 7.09sec, 40.9545pts, 1; Ringakaha Paewai (Gore) 11min 11.37sec, 44.9685pts, 2; Andy Mainland (Invercargill) 12min 32.59sec, 48.6295pts, 3; Delwyn Henriksen (Christchurch) 12min 18.59sec, 50.7295pts, 4.

Senior final (7 sheep): Linton Palmer (Dipton) 12min 21.81sec, 43.3762, 1; Jade Maguire-Ratima (Winton) 11min 8.54sec, 43.427pts, 2; Michael White (Heriot) 10min 11.56sec, 45.7208pts, 3; Jarrad Manihera (Heriot) 10min 54.6sec, 50.1486pts, 4.

Intermediate final (6 sheep): Chris Malcolm (Winton) 10min 13.31sec, 43.3322pts, 1; Jesse Barclay (Mataura) 11min 2.22sec, 45.111pts, 2; Tyson Mark (Heriot) 9min 52.69sec, 50.9678pts, 3; Wayne Malcolm (Winton) 12min 15.75sec, 58.4542, 4.

Ends

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