One Back For The Aussies - A Shearing Win In Central Otago

New South Wales farmer-shearer Jamie Boothman can add another tag to the akoubra after restoring ocker domination of the New Zealand Merino Shears open shearing title with a win in Saturday night’s final in Alexandra, Central Otago.

Boothman, 31, from Crookwell, in the Southern Tablelands and about 240km southwest of Sydney, arrived from Australia on the day and was in charge almost all of the way, as top qualifier for the quarterfinals and then the semifinals, and 4th going into the six-man final.

The title’s Australian dominance had been highlighted by West Australian Damien Boyle’s 8 wins between 2010 and 2019 and New South Wales shearer Daniel’s McIntyre’s win in 2022.

Boothman claimed the title by more than 3 points from runner-up and Mataura shearer Brett Roberts, who as the first NewZealander secured a place in a New Zealand team for the first time, while defending champion Chris Vickers, of Palmerston, North Otago was 3rd.

Boothman sheared for Australia for the first time in a three-a-side transtasman win at the Golden Shears in Masterton in March, and will face Roberts in the return match during the Australian National shearing and woolhandling championships in Jamestown, South Australia on October 24-26.

A surprise elimination in the Open shearing semi-finals was Invercargill shearer Nathan Stratford, five times the winner but in 2025 placed 7th and missing a place in the six-man final for only the 3rd time since his first in 2002.

Two-times World woolhandling champion Joel Henare, from Gisborne but based in Motueka, started his 20th season in the Open woolhandling class by winning the Alexandra Open woolhandling title for a 5th time, with defending champion Pagan Rimene, of Alexandra, the runner-up.

It was his 144th Open win, and lined him up for a 15th transtasman test in three weeks’ time.

Vickers and Te Kuiti shearer James Fagan were the only survivors from last year’s final among the 6 in Saturday’s final, but of the four in the woolhandling final Henare, Rimene and Waihape had all reached the 2024 showdown.

The Senior shearing final, over 4 sheep each, was won by 26-year-old Western Australia-based Tawhaarangi Taylor, from Ohakune, who plans to next weekend defend the national winter comb senior title at Waimate.

Dre Roberts, brother of Brett Roberts, was second, beaten by about 5-and-a-half points.

The first winner of the new season was 19-year-old Zoe Meikle, of Oamaru, claiming the Novice woolhandling title on Friday.

Later she made up a family team with father Justin Meikle (Open shearing), brother Tye (Senior shearing), and mum Renee (Open woolhandling) competing for McSkimming Shearing in finishing 9th of 18 in the shearing and woolhandling teams event.

On Saturday the Junior woolhandling final provided a first win for 23-year-old Mady Little, from Balclutha but now living in Alexandra, and the Senior final was won by 24-year-old Tia Manson, of Piopio, who had scraped into the final as the 4th qualifier.

The shears, which attracted 139 competitors, including a small number from Australia, Wales, and South Africa and comprising 70 shearers (Open 47, Senior 23) and 69 woolhandlers (Open 30, Senior 11, Junior 12, Novice 16), was the first of 57 shows on the Shearing Sports New Zealand calendar for the season.

They include the 20th Golden Shears World shearing and woolhandling championships in Masterton on March 4-7, and end with the New Zealand Shears in Te Kuiti on April 9-11.

The next is the Waimate Spring Shears next Friday and Saturday, incorporating a transtasman blades shearing test and the 4th round of the New Zealand World championships machine and blades shearing selection series’.

The first events in the North Island is Poverty Bay A and P Show’s Gisborne Shearing and Woolhandling Championships on October 17-18

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