Top Guns Go South to Bolster Nelson Show

MEDIA RELEASE

November 20, 2009

At least two of the finalists from this year's Golden Shears open championship are expected to compete in the Nelson A and P Show Shears tomorrow [Saturday], giving a much welcome boost to the event.

World champion and two-times Golden Shears champion Paul Avery, the Taranaki farmer who was second to King Country icon David Fagan in Masterton's big event last March, will compete will compete, while Wanganui gun Jerome McCrea, who was fifth at the Golden Shears, is also scheduled to make the trip, in search of points in the South Island Shearer of the year series.

But New Zealand open winner and Napier shearer John Kirkpatrick, who won a World teams title with Kirkpatrick 13 months ago, has decided against the trip because of the pressure of work in Hawke's Bay.

Avery has had one win this season, in Blenheim, while McRea, was sixth to Fagan in the final of last Friday's New Zealand corriedale championship in Christchurch.

The star appearances have been welcomed by Nelson Shears shears organiser Roger Simpson, who expects to also be among the competitors, hoping Avery's presence at the Richmond Showgrounds will draw-out not only the open class shearers, but also shearers in the junior, intermediate and senior classes which have struggled for numbers in the region.

Among the open shearers will be local-area competitor Nick Nalder, arriving back today from a stint in Norway and ready to tackle not only the nelson Open, but also the Top of the South finals at the Show on Sunday, which will also feature what some people believe is the Tasman region's first woolhandling competition. An added attraction for shearers will be a Speedshear at the Nelson north Country Club on Saturday night.

The Top of the South will be decided in the intermediate, senior and open classes, with competitors qualifying for the finals with their best four sets of points from the eight shows in the region dating back to last year's Nelson Shears. Also in the circuit were the Golden Bay, Tapawera, Reefton, Murchison, Kaikoura, Flaxbourne and Marlborough shows.

The woolhandling on Sunday will include several competing for the first time, and industry trainers Tectra were running a course preparing woolhandlers for the event, under the guidance of 2007 Golden Shears open woolhandling champion Huia Whyte-Puna.

The only other competition remaining on the Shearing Sports New Zealand calendar before Christmas will be Avery's home show at Stratford next week, and the competition season will resume with the national lambshearing championships at Raglan's Western Shears on January and the Peninsula Duvauchelle Shears in the South Island on January 9.

ENDS

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