Dannevirke Kicks-off Big Weekend Of Shearing

Competition is now under way in another big weekend of shearing throughout New Zealand, kicked-off by the Dannevirke A and P Show Shears in Southern Hawke’s Bay.

Competition in search of five shearing titles and four wool handling titles started at 8.30am, and will be followed by four other competitions on a weekend that also includes a World Record attempt and a major shearing-based fundraiser, both in the South Island.

On Saturday, the Northern Kaipara A and P Association’s Paparoa Show is on despite the impacts of the last week’s storms in Northland and Auckland, the Rangitikei Shearing Sports’ North Island shearing and woolhandling championships will be in Marton, including the fourth round of the PGG Wrightson Vetmed National Shearing Circuit, and the Reefton Shears will be at the Inangahua A and P Show in Reefton.

Monday will see the Aria Waitangi Day shearing and woolhandling, the shearing competition thought to be the longest-running shearing sports competition in the country, thought to have been first held in 1956, although other competitions predating the event in rural King Country still held have been in and out of recess over the years.

Also on Saturday, at Fairlight Station, Southland, King Country shearer Sacha Bond will attempt the women’s solo eight-hours strongwool lambs World Record (510, set by Canadian shearer Pauline Bolay in a Waikato woolshed in December 2019) while the Shear 4 A Cause Shearathon will start the same day at 6am, at Moa Flat, West Otago, and finish on Sunday at 2pm.

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