Kamura’s Marton double: Hey bartend, can yer shear as well?

Kamura’s Marton double: Hey bartend, can yer shear as well?

Marton woolhandler, barman, now shearer Logan Kamura reckons Saturday was the best day of his life, with two winning ribbons at home-town show the Rangitikei Shearing Sports’ North Island shearing and woolhandling championships.
Kamura first won the Novice shearing title, a contest of one sheep each in which he beat four others.
He then reverted to his more familiar role of woolhandler, to score just his second Open-class title, in his fourth season of trying.
The vanquished included Gisborne woolhandler Mary-Anne Baty, who was third after winning at Dannevirke the previous day, and who now competes for New Zealand in the World championships in Invercargill starting on Wednesday.
While a first Open win is just about the ultimate for many woolhandlers, Saturday was something extra special, not just personally for Kamura but also for the gangs of boss and Whanganui shearing contractor Phil Hourigan.
Among the rest of the crew is Waipawa shearer Aaron Bell who scored one of the most commanding win ever in central and lower North Island Senior shearing, before hitting the road to represent the Cook Islands at the World championships.
In a 12-sheep final, Bell beat the next quickest by more than three minutes, and ultimately had a winning margin of almost 11pts to runner-up and new Senior grade shearer Anaru Wakefield, of Porangahau.
The 24-year-old Kamura won the Taranaki Open woolhandling final in 2014, having graduated the previous year with three wins and top-three placings at the Golden Shears and New Zealand championships in the Senior grade.
He’d been mixing a bar job with the day-job and backed-off competitions, but made a special effort for the events in Marton, training during the week with local Marton “legend” Kopere Downs and dual shearing and woolhandling competitor Jimmy Samuels.
“Being my local show I sort of had a lot to prove,” he reckoned. “I was gunning for the woolhandling.”
The shearing, however was just a bonus, hoping just to make the final. “To win it was beyond my expectation. It felt good to be back in the game and amongst the finals.”
The 28-year-old Bell, whose son, Cohen, turns two on Waitangi Day, has hit a timely patch of form, having finally broken through to win the Senior final at the Taihape Show last week, and been runner-up at Dannevirke on Friday. His previous highlights had been third in last year’s Golden Shears Senior final, and runner-up at the Southern Shears in Gore the previous year.
Having just started shearing for Mr Hourigan in early January, after returning from shearing in South Australia, he said of Saturday’s domination: “I shore out of my skin. I don’t know where it came from.”
The Open shearing final featured another crushing victory for Hastings gun Rowland Smith, claiming victory by more than four-and-a-half points from runner-up David Buick, of Pongaroa, with World championships favourite John Kirkpatrick, of Napier, third,
Taihape shearer Rikihana continued a run of finals performances being first to finish, shearing the 20 sheep in 16min 46.78sec, the only one of the six finalists to finish under 17 minutes.
Results from the Rangitikei Shearing Sports’ North Island shearing and woolhandling championships at Marton on Saturday, February 4, 2017:
Shearing:
Open final (20 sheep): Rowland Smith (Hastings) 17min 15.29sec, 62.015pts, 1; David Buick (Pongaroa) 17min 0.68sec, 66.734pts, 2; John Kirkpatrick (Napier) 17min 43.3sec, 66.765pts, 3; Mark Grainger (Te Kuiti) 17min 18.31sec, 69.116pts, 4; Aaron Haynes (Feilding) 18min 12.79sec, 71.34pts, 5; Rikihana Chase (Taihape) 16min 46.78sec, 76.539pts, 6.
Senior final (12 sheep): Aaron Bell (Waipawa) 13min 24.71sec, 52.653pts, 1; Anaru Wakefield (Porangahau) 17min 40.39sec, 63.437pts, 2; Ramone Smith (Gisborne) 16min 46.89sec, 64.095pts, 3; Nathan Gleeson (Stratford) 17min 23.36sec, 65.334pts, 4; Tomas Lima (Levin) 16min 49.03sec, 65.535pts, Kieran Devane (Taihape) 17min 17.7sec, 66.469pts, 6.
Intermediate final (6 sheep): Laura Bradley (Woodville) 10min 9.61sec, 41.314pts, 1; Gwydeon Davis (Wales) 9min 31.71sec, 43.086pts, 2; Cody Greig Levin) 10min 6.76sec, 44.338pts, 3; Wilton Weekes (Kimbolton) 11min 16.37sec, 47.319pts, 4; Daniel Tutaki (Matakana) 9min 30.84sec, 48.875pts, 5; Jeremy Leygonie (France) 10min 6.59sec, 50.163pts, 6.
Junior final (3 sheep): Mark Ferguson (Elsthorpe) 6min 31.23sec, 29.562pts, 1; Reuben Alabaster (Taihape) 7min 9.68sec, 34.818pts, 2; Callum Pritchard (Pongaroa) 6min 32.49sec, 34.958pts, 3; Steve Hakaraia (Napier) 6min 41.88sec, 40.761pts, 5; Anne-Lise Humstad (Norway) 8min 2.08sec, 40.771pts, 5; Marie Prebble (England) 7min 27.31sec, 45.032pts, 6.
Novice final (1 sheep): Logan Kamura (Marton) 4min 5.18sec, 39.359pts, 1; Liam Pritchard (Pongaroa) 3min 46.01sec, 42.301pts, 2; Adrienne Samuels (Marton) 4min 18.69sec, 50.935pts, 3; Samantha Pritchard (Pongaroa) 5min 2.91sec, 56.232pts, 4; Jono Hicks (Marton) 6min 24.64sec, 56.232pts, 5.
Woolhandling:
Open final: Logan Kamura (Marton) 44.4pts, 1; Kimberley Braddick (Eketahuna) 48.03pts, 2; Mary-Anne Baty (Gisborne) 74.12pts, 3; Keryn Herbert (Te Awamutu) 84.714pts, 4; Ana Braddick (Eketahuna) 93.47pts, 5; Rose Puha (Kimbolton) 106.06pts, 6.
Senior final: Angela Stevens (Napier) 44.34pts, 1; Ash Boyce (Dannevirke) 47.26pts, 2; Adrienne Samuels (Marton) 53.44pts, 3; Jamie McLean (Taihape) 61.44pts, 4; Rochelle Ashford (-) 65pts, 5; Marika Braddick (Eketahuna) 66.35pts, 6.
Junior final: Ricci Stevens (Napier) 45.75pts, 1; Summer Pritchard (Pongaroa) 49.28pts, 2; Azuradee Paku (Masterton) 51.35pts, 3; Cortez Osler (Dannevirke) 55.62pts, 4; Bianca Hawea (Masterton) 69.66pts, 5; Lee George (-) 79.68pts, 6.
ENDS

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