Poverty Bay A And P Show's 150th Anniversary; Ellesmere A And P Show

Voices of the Shears too good on the board and the tables

Some rearrangements with the microphone were needed as the voices of the shears dominated the major events on the board and the tables at the Gisborne Shearing and Woolhandling Championships on Saturday.

All regular arena commentators at competitions where they also compete, Te Kuiti shearer Jack Fagan and Paerata Abraham, of Masterton, were first and second in the Open shearing final, and home-town favourite Joel Henare, who;ives in Motueka, and Monica Potae, of Kennedy Bay, Coromandel, were first and second in the Open woolhandling final.

Having commentated throughout the day, except for his own event and the occasional break, Henare switched from the tee-shirt and shorts of battle to suit and tie to conduct the prizegiving ceremony for the championships that had 122 entries across five grades of shearing and four of woolhandling at the 150th anniversary Poverty Bay A and P Show, releasing the mic only when the recipient was himself.

Following two events in the South Island it was the first North Island show on the 2025-2026 Shearing Sports New Zealand calendar.

Meanwhile, the third competition of the season in the South Island was the Ellesmere A and P Show’s shearing championships at Leeston, where the feature was the double wins scored by father and son Justin and Tye Meikle in the Open and Intermediate finals respectively, on the back of a similar double at the show last year, when they won the Open and Junior finals respectively.

Fagan’s performance in Gisborne was one of the best in a career in which he had his first Open victory in England in 2015, won the Royal Welsh Open soon afterwards, and, last season won his second New Zealand Corriedales Championship in Christchurch, and also, for the first time, the North Island Shearer of the Year final.

He shore the 20 woolly hoggets in 15min 45.43sec, beating Abraham off the board by more than 26 seconds, and a comfortable 2.279pts in the final count, followed-up with a speed shear win at Te Karaka on Saturday night, when local shearer Kingston Kuru completed a Senior double after a speed shear win at the show on Friday, and fifth place in the show’s Senior championship final on Saturday.

For Henare it was a third win in four outings in the first 15 days of the new season, taking his record individual tally to 146 Open-class wins, and it was an emotional one with the presentation for the first time of a new Open-grade taonga, The Master Sweep, recognising the area’s first Master woolhandlers, Ailsa Fleming and Oti Mason. He also managed a win in Friday’s Speed Shear quick throw.

Fagan will next compete at the Hawke’s Bay A and P Show’s Great Raihania Shears on Friday, but Henare will be with the New Zealand team at the transtasman tests at Jamestown, South Australia.

Taelor Tarrant, of Taumarunui, won Saturday’s Senior shearing final, his fourth final in four competitions this season, including winning the New Zealand Spring Shears Winter Comb title at Waimate. He sheared the 10 sheep in 10m 5.27s, beating next-man-off Kuru by about 45 seconds, and the remaining three by more than a sheep. In the final count he beat runner-up and first-season Senior Kaivah Cooper, of Napier, by 2.2645pts.

The Intermediate final was won by local Jodiesha Kirkpatrick, Waiari Puna, of Napier, won the Junior final, and the Novice event was won by Matawai farmer Jo McIntyre, who as Jo Waugh in 2019 became the first female to win a New Zealand or island sheep dog trials championships title, and has now won South Island titles in both the zig zag and straight hunts.

Tre Ratana Sciascia, from Taihape, had a second Senior woolhandling win this season, having won at Waimate in the South Island a week earlier. The Junior final provided a first win for Leah Tamainu, of Nuhaka, and Reipuia Moke, of Gisborne, won the Novice woolhandling.

The entries comprised 73 shearers (Open 20, Senior 13, Intermediate 8, Junior 12, Novice 20), and 49 woolhandlers (Open 19, Senior 11, Junior 12, Novice 7).

RESULTS from the Gisborne Shearing and Woolhandling Championships at the 150th Poverty Bay A and P Show on Saturday, October 18, 2025:

Shearing

Open final (20 sheep): Jack Fagan (Te Kuiti) 15m 45.43s, 55.6715pts, 1; Paerata Abraham (Masterton) 16m 12.01s, 57.9505pts, 2; John Kirkpatrick (Pakipaki) 17m 11.16s, 58.78pts, 3; Tama Niania (Gisborne) 17m 25.17s, 60.6585pts, 4; Hemi Braddick (Eketahuna) 18m 46.26s, 63.813pts, 5.

Senior final (10 sheep): Taelor Tarrant (Taumarunui) 10m 5.27s, 42.9635pts, 1; Kaivah Cooper (Napier) 11m 12.56s, 45.228pts, 2; Jesse McIntyre (Hastings) 11m 57.13s, 47.1565pts, 3; Ryka Swann (Wairoa) 11m 35.72s, 50.586pts, 4; Kingston Kuru (Gisborne) 10m 50.34s, 52.217pts, 5.

Intermediate final (5 sheep): Jodiesha Kirkpatrick (Gisborne) 6m 48.75s, 24.8375pts, 1; Michael Buick (Pongaroa) 6m 49.72s, 28.886pts, 2; Riley Norman (-) 7m 42.21s, 30.1105pts, 3; Lydia Thomson (Oxford/Hastings) 8m 41.05s, 31.0525pts, 4; Sean Story (Gisborne) 7m 23.47s, 53.5735pts, 5.

Junior final (3): Waiari Puna (Napier) 7m 10.75s, 36.2042pts, 1; Ashlin Swann (Wairoa) 7m 59.22s, 37.2943pts, 2; Tom Kerley (Wairoa) 8m 16.12s, 37.806pts, 3; Camden Bolton (Feilding) 8m 48.66s, 38.0997pts, 4; Jack Campbell 8m 23.12s, 44.8227pts, 5.

Novice (1 sheep): Jo McIntyre (Matawai) 4m 14.94s, 25.747pts, 1; Paris Mariki-Harrison (Gisborne) 3m 45.37s, 27.2685pts, 2; Sam Lawson Ongaonga) 3m 56.52s, 28.826pts, 3; Wilbur Kittow (Central Hawke’s Bay) 5m 6.66s, 31.333pts, 4; Hannah Hutchinson (Whatatutu) 6m 43.22s, 38.161pts, 5.

Open Speed Shear: Tiare Tipu (Flaxmere) 1, Forde Alexander (Taumarunui) 2, David Buick (Pongaroa) 3.

Senior Speed Shear: Kingston Kuru (Gisborne) 1, Taelor Tarrant (Taumarunui) 2, Tu Puhia (Gisborne) 3.

Woolhandling

Open final: Joel Henare (Gisborne/Motueka) 82.908pts, 1; Monica Potae (Kennedy Bay) 133.05pts, 2; Cushla Abraham (Masterton) 141.15pts, 3; Jasmine Tipoki (Napier) 158.67pts, 4.

Senior final: Tre Ratana Sciascia (Taihape) 83.25pts, 1; Tramon Campbell (Gisborne) 105.2pts, 2; Chloe Henderson (Feilding) 133.81pts, 3; Jamie Penfold (Gisborne) 135.07pts, 4.

Junior final: Leah Tamainu (Nuhaka) 123.69pts, 1; Opal Ramsay-Houpapa (Pongaroa) 139.954pts, 2; Sathara Fleming (Te Karaka) 143.12pts, 3; Miracle Waikato (Hastings) 152.31pts, 4.

Novice: Reipuia Moke (Gisborne) 71.57pts, 1; Paris Maraki-Harrison (Gisborne) 75.94s, 2; Shiannah Kopua (Gisborne) 79.17pts, 3; Kobie Foster (Pongaroa) 98.62pts, 4.

Open Speed Shear: Tiare Tipu (Flaxmere) 1, Forde Alexander (Taumarunui) 2, David Buick (Pongaroa) 3.

Senior Speed Shear: Kingston Kuru (Gisborne) 1, Taelor Tarrant (Taumarunui) 2, Tu Puhia (Gisborne) 3.

Intermediate clean shear: Jodiesha Kirkpatrick (Gisborne) 1, Michae; Buick (Pongaroa) 2, Roy Pomare (Gisborne) 3.

Quick Throw: Joel Henare (Gisborne/Motueka) 1, Jamie Penfold (Gisborne) 2, Tu Puhia (Gisborne) 3.

Father and son repeat Ellesmere Show double

Oamaru shearer Justin Meikle became the fifth different winner in five Open finals at the start of the 2025-2026 Shearing Sports New Zealand season when he successfully defended the Ellesmere A and P Show’s title at Leeston on Saturday.

Completing a family double with son Tye, who won the intermediate final, Meikle set a hot pace to shear the 15 sheep of his four-man final in 14min 2sec, finishing more than a sheep ahead of runner-up Hugh De Lacy, of Rangiora, and more than two ahead of 2024 runner-up, Pleasant Point shearer and contractor Ant Frew, and Taare Edwards, of Ashburton.

While the three opponents all had better quality points, none were significate enough to pull-back the time advantage of Meikle, who beat De Lacy by 3.25pts.

Last year, Justin and Tye Meikle won the show’s Open and Junior finals respectively.

Zion Smith, of Christchurch, also used superior speed to win the Senior final by 0.67pts from Southland shearer Emma Martin, and the new Junior champion is Levi Beedles, of Rangiora.

The show attracted 30 shearers (Open 10, Senior 9, Intermediate 5, Junior 6).

The next competition in the South Island us at the northern A and P Show in Rangiora next Saturday.

RESULTS from the Ellesmere A and P Show shearing championships at Leeston on Saturday, October 18, 2025:

Open final (15 sheep): Justin Meikle 14m 2s, 48.9pts, 1; Hugh De Lacy (Rangiora) 15m 27s, 52.15pts, 2; Ant Frew (Pleasant Point) 16m 3s, 54.22pts, 3; Taare Edwards (Ashburton) 17m 13s, 56.65pts.

Senior final (8 sheep): Zion Smith (Christchurch) 9m 59s, 40.83pts, 1; Emma Martin (Gore) 11m 20s, 41.5pts, 2; Aaron Magee (Raphoe, Ireland) 11m 19s, 41.83pts, 3; James Wilson (Gore) 10m 28s, 42.4pts, 4.

Intermediate final (5 sheep): Tye Meikle (Oamaru) 7m 29s, 27.45pts, 1; Lochie Cameron (Pohangina) 8m 33s, 34.85pts, 2; Caleb Makuch (Temuka) 8m 45s, 37.25pts, 3; Kye Waihape 9m 55s, 40.35pts, 4.

Junior final (3 sheep): Levi Beedles (Rangiora) 6m, 39.67pts, 1; Tyran Smith (Christchurch) 6m 29s, 41.12pts, 2; Jacob Booth (Waimate) 7m 54s, 46.7pts, 3; Ollie Armer 8m 18s, 56.9pts, 4.

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