Southland Double At Spring Shears

Southland shearer Casey Bailey has scored one of the biggest of his handful of Open-class wins in a come-from-behind effort that surprised even himself in Waimate on Saturday.

The 34-year-old Bailey, from Riverton, finished more than a minute behind Northland shearer and event favourite Toa Henderson, who finished the six-man New Zealand Spring Shears final of 18 sheep each in 17m 7.17s, but clawed back the 3pts-plus time deficit with the best quality points.

He beat the Kaiwaka gun by 1.204pts, while third was veteran Hawke’s Bay shearer, 2020 Waimate winner and 2017 World champion John Kirkpatrick, completing a South Island double at the two-day championships, with Invercargill's Nathan Stratford having won the national Winter Comb title the previous day.

Fifth to finish, in 18m 16.41s, and asked how he felt at the time, he said: “Not that confident really. Three points is a lot to try to bring back.”

But it was enough, for his first win since the South Island Shearer of the Year final in Gore in February 2023.

It gave him maximum points in the fourth round of the Shearing Sports New Zealand 2026 World championships team selection series.

Henderson, having won all three rounds to date, including the Golden Shears and New Zealand Shears Open titles last season and set to miss the next round in Hastings on October 24 while with the New Zealand team for a test match in South Australia.

Bailey, a prolific winner in the Senior class based in Masterton in 2014, when he won the New Zealand Shears Senior final in Te Kuiti, has limited his competition in the Open class, citing distance, trying not to take too many days off work, and targeting A-grade shows because of the higher level of competition.

He’s been in the last two Golden Shears Open finals, runner-up to Leon Samuels in a Southland one-two in in 2024 and third to Henderson in March this year.

The stakes are higher this season with the goal to make the New Zealand team for the “Worlds” at the Golden Shears on March 4-7, and he says: “It’s more of a dream to win the Worlds or the Goldies.”

South Canterbury shearer Allan Oldfield took his biggest step towards gaining a place in an attempt to regain the World bladeshearing title he won in France in 2019 when he won the Waimate Open blades final, the fifth round of an eight-round selection series that ends in Christchurch on November 14-15.

The current New Zealand pair of Scott McKay, of Clarence, and Tony Dobbs, of Fairlie, were second and third respectively, and also beat Australian bladeshearers Johnathon Dalla and Andrew Murray in the first transtasman test of the season.

French shearer Simon Rouanet won the New Zealand’s only Intermediate bladeshearing title.

Stratford's win was his third in four years i the Winter Comb championship.

According to Shearing Sports New Zealand records he’s had 105 individual wins dating back to his first, in the Junior final at Waimate, in 1991. Friday’s was his 89th in the Open class.

In all he’s had 17 individual wins at Waimate, with the Junior win, the Senior title in 1996, 12 Waimate Spring Shears Open titles from 2001 to 2023 (including five consecutively in 2005-2009), and the Winter Comb titles in 2022, 2023 and now 2025.

Having missed a place in the NZ Merino Shears final seven days earlier, on Friday he won by just 0.23 points from runner-up Brett Roberts, of Mataura, who was backing up from a Merino Shears second-placing that gained him a place in the transtasman series team for tests ar Jamestown, South Australia, at (NZ) Labour Weekend and at the 60th Southern Shears in Gore in February.

Dre Roberts, of Mataura, won the Spting Shears Senior final, while King Country shearer Taelor Tarrant won the Senior Winter Comb final, in his fifth final in six on finewool in the last three seasons.

In the other Spring Shears finals, the first lower grade finals of the new season, Oamaru teenager and No. ranked 2024-2025 Junior shearer Tye Meikle, of Oamaru, won the Intermediate title, Galaxie Waihape, of Mataura, the Junior event, and Caden Hofman, of Kurow, the Novice title.

Pagan Rimene, of Alexandra, had the first win in her 20th season of Open-class woolhandling by claiming the Spring Shears Open title for only second time.

The winner in 2020, she turned the tables on Golden Shears champion Joel Henare, to whom she had finished second a week earlier at the Merino Shears, and posted the 35th win of her Open-class career.

It was a first Open final for third placegetter Nya Kerekere.

But Henare moved ever closer to a career total of 150 wins when he won the South Island Woolhandling Circuit final.

North Island visitors won the lower grade woolhandling titles, with Tre Ratana the Senior champion and Jorjah Mason, of Masterton, having a first Junior win.

There were 166 entries across the classes on Saturday, comprising 43 Open shearers, 18 seniors, 15 in the Intermediate grade, 11 Juniors, seven Novice competitors, and nine each of two classes of blades shearing, and in the woolhandling there were 21 in the Open, 14 seniors, and 19 juniors.

The first completion in the North Island is at the Poverty Bay A and P Show, with a speed shear on Friday, starting at 1pm, with Open and Senior classes, an Intermediate clean shear and a quick-throw for the woolhandlers, followed by the Gisborne Shearing and Woolhandling Championships on Saturday.

In the South Island the Ellesmere A and P Show’s annual shearing competition will be held in Leeston on Saturday, including a speed shear and blades shearing.

The next round of the World Championships’ shearing team selection series’ will be machine shearing at the Hawke’s Bay A and P Show’s Great Raihania Shears on October 24, and for blades at the Northern A and P Association’s Rangiora Show the next day The next woolhandling leg is at the Northern Southland Community Shears near Lumsden in January.

The third leg of the PGG Wrightson Vetmed National Shearing Circuit will be at the Canterbury show on November 15.

Results from the New Zealand Spring Shears at Waimate on Friday-Saturday, October 10-11, 2025:

International

Transtasman Bladeshearing Test (5 sheep): New Zealand (Tony Dobbs 15m 52.59s, 56.23pts; Scott McKay 15m 34.63s, 56.732pts) 112.692pts, beat Australia (Johnathon Dalla 15m 39.02s, 58.351pts; Andrew Murray 16m 38.84s, 75.292pts) 133.643pts.

Shearing:

Open final (18 sheep): Casey Bailey (Riverton) 18m 16.41s, 59.71pts, 1; Toa Henderson (Kaiwaka) 17m 7.17s, 60.914pts, 2; John Kirkpatrick (Napier) 17m 54.5s, 61.003pts, 3; David Buick (Pongaroa) 17m 44.23s, 63.157pts, 4; Brett Roberts (Mataura) 18m 0.06s, 63.225pts, 5; Brook Hamerton (Hastings) 19m 10.48s, 64.468pts, 6.

Open Novice (10 sheep): Joseph Gordon (Masterton) 10m 48.03s, 40.202pts, 1; Taare Edwards (Rakaia) 11m 56.66s, 42.133pts, 2; Blake Crooks (Rangiora) 11m 11.94s, 43.497pts, 3; Aiden Tarrant (Mapiu) 11m 49.98s, 46.199pts, 4; Nathan Bee (Wyndham) 11m 54.33s, 47.717pts, 5; Mohi Gray (Waipukurau) 11m 51.56s, 52.578pts, 6.

Senior final (8 sheep): Dre Roberts (Mataura) 10m 4.39s, 38.345pts, 1; Emma Martin (Gore) 10m 39.73s, 39.112pts, 2; Taelor Tarrant (Taumarunui) 9m 35.91s, 39.671pts, 3; James Wilson (Winton) 10m 44.78s, 41.364pts, 4; Sarn McCone (Temuka) 11m 5.03s. 42.377pts, 5; Timo Hicks (Tapawera) 10m 42.2s, 42.61pts, 6.

Intermediate final (5 sheep): Tye Meikle (Oamaru) 7m 27.33s, 26.567pts, 1; Jodiesha Kirkpatrick (Gisborne) 7m 47.31s, 28.566pts, Michael Buick (Pongaroa) 7m 52.33s, 40.417pts, 3; Missy Te Whata (Mossburn) 8m 24.36s, 31.818pts, 4; Isaak Cleland (Oamaru) 7m 10.77s, 33.539pts, 5; Harlem Haare (Gore) 8m 20.05s, 36.403pts, 6.

Junior final (3 sheep): Galaxie Waihape (Mataura) 6m 29.94s, 27.164pts, 1; Reuben Wilkinson (Wyndham) 6m 50.42s 30.188pts, Ben Rowson-Jones (Derbyshire, England) 6m 33.16s, 31.658pts, 3; Tatyana Collier (Gisborne) 6m 36.84s, 35.508pts, 4; Joel McComb (Kurow) 8m 19.05s, 35.953pts, 5; Tracey Paton (Otaio) 7m 52.73s, 40.97pts, 6.

Novice final (1 sheep): Caden Hofman (Kurow) 3m 14.95s, 23.748pts, 1; Shyla Gordon (Masterton) 4m 45.23s, 30.262pts,2; Khorteaz Tua (Waipukurau) 6m 39.58s, 42.979pts, 3; Bridee Wilkinson (Wyndham) 4m 39.11s, 49.956pts, 4; Wilfred Morgan (Oamaru) 3m 18.94s, 55.947pts, 5; Ashley Clarke (Roxburgh) 4m 29.84s, 58.492pts, 6.

Open Blades final (5 sheep): Allan Oldfield (Geraldine) 13m 32.2s, 50.61pts, 1; Scott McKay (Clarence) 14m 13.22s, 52.861pts, 2; Tony Dobbs (Fairlie) 15m 3.22s, 52.961pts, 3; Mike McConnell (Christchurch) 14m 52.34s, 53.017pts, 4; Johnathon Dalla (South Australia) 16m 32.47s, 59.824pts, 5; Phil Oldfield (Geraldine) 16m 39.5s, 59.975pts, 6.

Intermediate Blades final (2 sheep): Simon Rouanet (Albine, France) 13m 55.22s, 53.261pts, 1; Jack Fagan (Te Kuiti) 13m 66.97s, 53.349pts, 2; Shun Oishi (Japan) 13m 14.88s, 58.744pts, 3; Gonzalo Olivares (Santiago, Chile) 13m 2.86s, 63.643pts, 4; John O’Connell (Ireland) 12m 57.39s, 65.87pts, 5; Shaun Burgess (Rakaia) 11m 42.31s, 69.616pts, 6.

New Zealand Winter Comb Championships:

Open final (10 sheep): Nathan Stratford (Invercargill) 21m 10.72s, 83.036pts, 1; Brett Roberts (Mataura) 20m 15.31s, 83.266pts, 2; Colin O’Neil (Alexandra) 21m 28.16s, 84.908pts, 3; Jack Fagan (Te Kuiti) 20m 28.45s, 88.023pts, 4; Justin Meikle (Oamaru) 18m 47.03s, 88.552pts, 5; Duncan Leslie (Alexandra) 22m 17.97s, 89.499pts, 6.

Senior final (5 sheep): Taelor Tarrant (Taumarunui) 13m 30.72s, 69.536pts, 1; Stacey Whitu (Roxburgh) 14m 36.03s, 73.202pts, 2; Dre Roberts (Mataura) 15m 51.14s, 76.357pts, 3; Cody Waihape (Gore) 15m 31.86s, 78.59pts, 4; Levi Uluakiahoia 16m 42.41s, 80.721pts, 5; Emma Martin (Gore) 20m 13.81s, 87.291pts, 6.

Speed shears:

Open: Jack Fagan (Te Kuiti); Senior, Dre Roberts (Mataura); Clean shear, Jodiesha Kirkpatrick (Gisborne).

Woohandling:

Open final (3 fleeces): Pagan Rimene (Alexandra) 93.15pts, 1; Joel Henare (Motueka) 119.862pts, 2; Nya Kerekere (Gisborne) 180.538pts, 3; Kelly McDonald (Waimate) 209.268pts, 4.

Senior final (2 fleeces): Tre Ratana Sciascia (Taihape) 101.082pts, 1; Lucy Elers (Mataura) 144.488pts, 2; Ashley Clarke (Gore) 158.41pts, 3; Kimberly Ward (Australia) 188.93pts, 4.

Junior final (2 fleeces): Jorjah Mason (Masterton) 140pts, 1; Tahli Nelson (Alexandra) 161.56spts, 2; Chevy Menzies (Cromwell) 197.78pts, 3; Legacy Hiroti (Raetihi) 421.69pts, 4.

Veterans: Vanessa Dennison (Kurow) 73.844pts, 1; Rhonda Wakefield (Rakaia) 81.63pts, 2; Dayna Te Aho (Milton) 100.13pts, 3; Keith Adams (Waimate) 103.75pts, 4.

South Island Woolhandling Circuit:

Open final (4 fleeces): Joel Henare (Motueka) 70.744pts, 1; Taiwha Nelson (Alexandra) 87.514pts, 2; Amy Ferguson (Alexandra) 98.006pt, 3; Foonie Waihape (Alexandra) 109.87pts, 4.

Shearing and woolandling teams event: Kurow 83 Justin Meikle/Tye Meikle, Vanessa McAllister/Zoe Meikle), 78.122pts, 1; PLS All Day (David Gordon/Cody Waihape, Amy Ferguson/Kimberly Ward) 93.39pts, 2; Pro Shear (Taare Edwards/Caleb Brooking, Jess Toa/Tessa Kirdy) 121.447pts, 3.

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