Eye On The Prize For Feilding Schoolboy

Eye On The Prize For Feilding Schoolboy

A young Feilding schoolboy, who's on fire in his chosen events at the Olympics of shearing and woolhandling in Masterton, has a prize prize bigger than invidual accolades in his sights. He is aiming to write himself into the Golden Shear's history book.

If 15-year-old Connor Puha can pull off a senior woolhanding title tomorrow to add to his crown as the event's novice shearer for 2014, he'll become to first competitor in Golden Shears history to win both a shearing and woolhandling title.

Connor, fresh from winning woolhandling’s North Island senior circuit final at the Pre-Shears Championships earlier in the week, is top qualifier through to the semi finals of the senior woolhanding.

Golden Shears competition isn't new for the youngster, who first competed at the tables as a 12 year old in the junior woolhandling and followed last year in the intermediate division.Despite his success in both aspects of the shearing sports, it's a future as a shearer he's planning, he says.

His success so far is proof that there's a new era of young guns in the top shearing competition scene .

Four years ago, 13- year-old Masterton schoolboy David Gordon won the novice title and became the youngest winner in the history of the championships.

Meanwhile competition continues this afternoon and tonight on day two of the 54th Golden Shears in Masterton.

Later tonight, the New Zealand flag will be waving as the first transtasman test gets underway. New Zealand woolhandlers Keryn Herbert and Tia Potae will be at the tables in the woolhandling test against Australia.

The weekend's transtasman events continue tomorrow night on the final day of competition, with the Australia versus New Zealand shearing test match.

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