Braving The Rain For Near-record Turnout At Taihape Shears

Taihape’s famed gumboot throwing competition was cancelled but the shearing still went ahead in a classic day of making-it-happen amid torrential rain on Saturday.

But the Taihape A and P Show’s 60th shearing and woolhandling championships – an anniversary delayed a year by Covid-19 restrictions and ultimately the only event not cancelled at the show – would not have happened, had it not been for three tractors to make sure the near-record entry of 159 shearers and woolhandlers had sheep to shear.

Local shearing contractor Stu Munro, convenor of the committee of three that puts the competition together, was determined the Shears would go ahead, despite the possibilities that faced him when he got up before four in the morning and headed down to the six-stand open-sided shearing pavilion, in its picturesque natural amphitheatre setting.

The problem was that with many of the competitors already in the area or on their way, from as far as Northland and Hawke’s Bay, he couldn’t see how the sheep trucks would get in and out of the venue – until he rang agricultural contractors Joe and Tash Coogan.

“It was 4.30am when I rang Joe,” Munro said. “He said: I’ve been expecting a call from you.”

The company soon had three tractors to haul the sheep trucks and out of the venue, and Munro said: “We wouldn’t have had any way of getting the stock in and out. It wouldn’t have happened without the tractors.”

The competitions went ahead, with 108 shearers across the five shearing grades from Novice to Open, and 51 entries across the four woolhandling grades, which also needed some innovation to ensure they went ahead with minimal wetting of the wool.

The organisers, including World champion woolhandler and Taihape schoolteacher Sheree Alabaster, decided to do away with the blending component of second-shear competition, meaning that without any blending penalty points multiple World champion Joel Henare’s 128th Open final came with possibly the lowest score ever in an Open woolhandling final in New Zealand.

Fellow former World champion Rowland Smith was pushed to the limit by Wairarapa shearer Hemi Braddick in the Open shearing final before claiming a win by just 0.05pts, just a week after figuring in a tied-result with Scottish shearer Gavin Mutch at Wairoa, broken only by Mutch’s superior quality points on the day.

Braddick led the race almost throughout Saturday’s final, as the rain increased, driving ever-closer to the shearing board, and shore the 20 sheep in 16min 58sec, beating Smith off the board by just six seconds.

Smith better quality in judging in the pen was just enough to erase Braddicks advantage on time and board judging points to claim the win in the overall count.

One of the shears of the day came from 2017 World champion John Kirkpatrick, in his 28th season of Open-class shearing and last to finish (17min 58sec) but claiming third place with the best pen-judging points from any of the finals.

Joseph Gordon, of Masterton, won the Senior shearing final by 2.7pts from Piopio shearer Clay Harris, who’d gone under a minute a sheep in shearing the pen of 10 in in 9min 39.2 sec, while shearers from the UK claimed two titles, with Sam Green, from England, winning the Intermediate final, and Elis Jones the Junior final. Novice honours went to new competitor Ngawaka Karaitiana, part of a significant team of competitors from Piopio.

Ashleigh Ostler (nee Ostler), of Marton, made a successful return to competition after about 18 years away to win the Senior woolhandling title, and Piopio claimed the two other titles, with Mykayla Barrowcliffe winning the Senior final and Crystal Newton the Novice honours.

RESULTS from Taihape A and P Show Shears at Taihape on Saturday, January 28, 2023:

Shearing:

Open final (20 sheep): Rowland Smith (Maraekakaho) 17min 4sec, 59.15pts, 1; Hemi Braddick (Eketahuna) 16min 58sec, 59.2pts, 2; John Kirkpatrick (Pakipaki) 17min 58sec, 60pts, 3; Aaron Haynes (Feilding) 17min 44sec, 61pts, 4; Tama Niania (Gisborne) 17min 35sec, 61.25pts, 5; David Gordon (Masterton) 17min 54sec, 61.8pts, 6.

Senior final (10 sheep): Joseph Gordon (Masterton) 10min 8sec, 36.5pts, 1; Clay Harris (Piopio) 9min 52sec, 39.2pts, 2; Tama Nahona (Whanganui/Kaiwaka) 10min 10sec, 41pts, 3; Daniel Biggs (Mangamahu) 10min 49sec, 41.15pts, 4; Cory Barrowcliffe (Piopio) 11min 21sec, 43.65pts, 5; Keiran Devane (Taihape) 13min 38sec, 50.8pts, 6.

Intermediate final (8 sheep): Sam Green (England) 10min 27sec, 39.725pts, 1; Josh Devane (Taihape) 10min 49sec, 40.075pts, 2; Steven Anderson (Scotland) 10min 37sec, 41.725pts, 3; Bruce Grace (Wairoa) 10min 26sec, 42.925pts, 4; Hamuera Henderson (Kaiwaka) 13min 21sec, 47.05pts, 5; Luke Parkhouse (Devon, England) 12min 1sec, 47.3pts, 6.

Junior final (4 sheep): Elis Jones (Wales) 7min 51sec, 31.05pts, 1; Ryka Swann (Wairoa) 7min 17sec, 33.35pts, 2; Coby Lambert (Raupunga) 7min 49sec, 33.45pts, 3; Pat Corrigan (Ireland) 8min 42sec, 35.35pts, 4; Teifion Morgan (Wales) 8min 32sec, 35.35pts, 5; Daniel Kerr (Scotland) 7min 15sec, 35.75pts, 6.

Novice (1 sheep): Ngawaka Karaitiana (Piopio) 4min 9sec, 27.45pts, 1; Trent Alabaster (Taihape) 4min 32sec, 27.6pts, 2; Sam Fletcher (Hawke’s Bay) 4min 15sec, 27.75pts, 3; Josh Haywood (Taihape) 4min 38sec, 30.9pts, 4; Ashlin Swann (Wairoa) 7min 20sec, 31pts, 5; Camden Bolton (Feilding) 4min 54sec, 41.7pts, 6.

Woolhandling:

Open final: Joel Henare (Gisborne/Motueka) 15.25pts, 1; Ngaio Hanson (Eketahuna) 24.916pts, 2; Kryn Herbert (Te Kuiti) 27.074pts, 3; Angela Stevens (Napier) 27.874pts, 4; Stevie Mason-Smallman (Taihape) 36.862pts, 5.

Senior final: Ashleigh Ostler (Marton) 30.538pts, 1; Tina Ngarangione (Gisborne) 30.93pts, 2; Te Ana Phillips (Taumarunui) 32.612pts, 3; Rahera Kerr (Te Kuiti) 39.4pts, 4; Vinniye Phillips (Taumarunui) 48.05pts, 5.

Junior final: Makayla Barrowcliffe (Piopio) 35.46pts, 1; Tia Manson (Piopio) 37.962pts, 2; Atina Barrowcliffe (Piopio) 50.47pts, 3; Jerana Manson (Piopio) 51.13pts, 4; Lekisha Rubi George (-) 60.838pts, 5.

Novice: Crystal Newton (Piopio)) 22.188pts, 1; Kristen Muller (Otorohanga) 23.188pts, 2; Keisha Reiri (Piopio) 23.04pts, 3; Capree Wallace (Taihape)) 26.64pts, 4; Natalia Renata (Hastings) 33.674pts, 5; Tess Fagan (Te Kuiti) 47.064pts, 6.

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