Happy families share shears limelight

MEDIA RELEASE

On behalf of Shearing Sports New Zealand March 2, 2011.

Happy families share shears limelight

The Golden Shears start on Thursday with a unique mix of families high on the lists of potential winners over the three days of Masterton's iconic event which was first held in 1961.

Heading them are the Goss family from Manawatu farming locality Kimbolton, with mother and former Open woolhandling champion Ronnie, and two shearing offspring in daughter Sarah and son Simon all winning hopes. A second daughter, Rachel, makes her Golden Shears debut as a junior woolhandler.

Sarah was runner-up in the 2997 Novice final and third in the Junior event last year, and has had winning form and a string placings in Intermediate events around the North Island this season, and will be trying to emulate the feat of father Alan, who won the 1985 Golden Shears Intermediate final. Simon is entered in the Junior class, hoping to go one better than he did in 2009, when he was second in the Novice final.

Ronnie Goss' niece, scoring system official Raelene Kirkpatrick, from Napier, will be watching husband and shearer John, the warm favourite to win the glamour Golden Shears Open title for a third time on Saturday, but both will be watching the action on the opening morning, as daughters Mary and Angela make their Golden Shears debuts in the Junior woolhandling heats.

The Guy family from Kaeo, in Northland, brings to Masterton a gang of five, with the best prospects being Senior contender and 2009 Intermediate shearing champion Bevan, with winning form this season and fourth place last year, and younger brother Bryce, looking for the Junior event to provide his first appearance in a Golden Shears final. Lance Guy is in the Intermediate grade, while two younger Guys, Charlie and Marshall, are bin the Novice event.

Brother and sister Cushla and David Gordon, who celebrated hometown wins in the Novice grade in 2008 and last year respectively, when David at 14 became the youngest Golden Shears champion, are now chasing the Intermediate and Junior shearing titles respectively, while sister Samantha will contest the Junior woolhandling.

Kirkpatrick won't be the only Open shearing title contender with children competing at the championships. Jack Fagan, the son of King Country icon David Fagan, is favourite to win the Intermediate title, 2008 World champion Paul Avery will watch son David in the Junior grade, while Digger Balme, of Te Kuiti, will be able to prepare for anotherr tilt at the major title by watching son Josh in the Novice shearing heats.

Open grade bolter Rowland Smith, from Ruawai in the Far North, will have two brothers joining him in the Open heats, in former Open Plate winner Matthew, and fellow World record breaker Doug.

More than 20 events will be contested during the Championships, which, having marked the 50th anniversary last year, celebrates the 25th anniversary of the introuction of a wool-pressing competition.

ENDS

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