Fagan hits half-century on top - again

October 10, 2011

Fagan hits half-century on top - again

Shearing icon David Fagan has again shown that advancing age is still no bar to success on the competition board by winning his last competition before turning 50.

But even before the win at the Waimate Shears on Saturday night Fagan confirmed it wouldn't be the end of the road and he will compete again next weekend in Gisborne going for his first win after hitting the big Five-O.

"It's just another day," he said ahead of Thursday's milestone, celebration of which, he said, would have to wait until till a December break in a season in which he is throwing down the gauntlet to allcomers again in quest of a place in the New Zealand team for the World Championships in Masterton in March.

An eight-round series to find the two machine shearers starts in Christchurch next month.

Last night’s successful defence of the New Zealand Spring Championships open title took his record in the event to 11 wins spanning 27 of his 30 years in Open-class shearing, which have produced more than 600 wins around the World, including five individual World titles.

It was also part of an all-conquering three days in the south where he won Speedshear events at Waikouaiiti and Waimate on Thursday and Friday nights respectively, and also shared victory in a teams shearing and woolhandling event on Saturday.

The pace which was evident in the single-sheep speedshears' was also evident in the six-man championships final where he was beaten on time only by 27-yearold Hawke's Bay-based Northlander Matthew Smith, who cleared his pen of 16 sheep in 17 minutes 6 seconds.

Beaten by 28 seconds, Fagan wiped the deficit with the better quality points and won by just 0.176pts from Southlander Nathan Stratford, with Smith having to settle for third just another 0.84pts away.

Veterans galore

Fagan’s win capped a night for the veterans in Waimate with Joanne Kumeroa, 41, of Whanganui, winning the Open woolhandling title for the seventh time, dating back to her first 20 years ago, and 54-year-old Billy Michelle, of Timaru, winning the Blades championship for a fourth time since 2003.

Each was making it two-out-of-two for the season after winning their respective titles at the season’s opener, the NZ Merino title in Alexandra, a week earlier.

The event was the fifth round of woolhandling’s World championships New Zealand team selection series. Kumeroa, determined to add to her World championships collection of three individual titles and two teams titles, is heading back to her Australian base and will miss the next round at the Poverty Bay Show, but will return for the New Zealand Corriedale Championships at the Canterbury Show,

It was also another round in the blades shearing qualifying series, but Michelle rules himself out of the running, having missed two earlier rounds at the end of last season.

The pace in his final was set by Omarama shearer Ross Kelman who shore five sheep with the blades in 14min 12.47sec, beating Michelle off the board by 48 seconds.

After time and quality points were counted Kelman had to settle for fourth, with defending champion Mike McConnell, of Cave, the runner-up and third place going to 2010 World championships third-placegetter Brian Thomson, of Christchurch.

Lower grades

Mataura teenager Brett Roberts marked his arrival in senior ranks with a crushing victory claiming his first Senior shearing title, Dipton’s Linton Palmer was even more dominant in winning the Intermediate final, and Andrew Leith, also of Dipton, was just as commanding in winning his first Junior title.

Hastings woolhandler Kyle Wihongi celebrated victory in the senior woolhandling final, almost a year after his last victory at Hawke’s Bay’s Great Raihania Shears, and the Junior final was won by Manutuke woolhandler Foonie Waihape,named after Gisborne Mayor Meng Foon..

ENDS

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