Lightning Ferguson Claims Waimate Win No 3

Lightning Ferguson Claims Waimate Win No 3

Former World and Golden Shears champion Cam Ferguson last night put in one of the fastest times in the 47 years of New Zealand Spring Shears open championship finals when he successfully defended the title and won the event for a third time tn Waimate.

The Waipawa shearer, whose first win in the event in 2009 launched the year in which he won his two big titles, shore the six-man final of 20 full-wooled sheep each in 16min 31.77sec, the fastest time for the final in at least seven years, and the first time since 2010 that anyone has gone under 17 minutes.

He beat legendary Te Kuiti shearer David Fagan by more than half-a-minute, and third-man-off Eli Cummings, of Pleasant Point, by more than two sheep.

The time, calculated at a point for every 20 seconds, was crucial in Ferguson denying the King Country gun possibly one last Waimate title, by just 0.445 points after all time and quality points were counted.

Fagan made up some of the gap with superior quality points, but the best job of all was completed by 2014 PGG Wrightson National Circuit champion and newly-acclaimed Master Shearer Nathan Stratford, of Invercargill. A winner of six Spring Shears Open finals, Stratford was last night placed third.

Soon to turn 53, Fagan had already marked the week’s trip south with two Speedshear victories, at a Waikouaiti hotel on Thursday night and in Waimate on Friday night – as he did in 2011 when he last won the Spring Shears title.

Meanwhile, World Championship runner-up New Zealand bladeshearers Tony Dobbs, of Fairlie, and Brian Thomson, of West Melton, outclassed Australian visitors and World Championships third-placegetters John Dalla, of Warooka, South Australia, and Ken French, of Glenisla, Vic, in winning a transtasman bladeshearing test, which opened the night’s programme in Waimate.

Dobbs shore his four sheep in 12min 46.89sec, beating next-man-off Thomson by half a minute and also scored the best quality points as the Kiwis won by 34pts.

He had already scored a comfortable victory in the Spring Shears Open bladeshearing final, beating runner-up Thomson by almost 12pt, who in turn was almost 12pts clear of third placegetter Dalla.

There were international aspects to all three lower-grade finals.

South Island-based Masterton shearer Ethan Pankhurst won the eight-sheep Senior final by 1.213pts from runner-up Corey Smith, of Waimate, with Scott Wilson, from Scotland, third.

Corey White, of Waimate, had his first Intermediate win, by just under a point from runner-up and Chilean shearer Luis Pincol, while Emily Te Kapa came from Scotland to figure in an all-female Junior quinella, won by Kelly MacDonald, of Lake Hawea.

More than 80 shearers took part in the four shearing events. Many head north now for the first North Island competition of the season next Saturday in Gisborne.

ENDS

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