Doing It For Kyle: Digger Balme 40th Season Win A Tribute To The Son

 Shearing veteran Digger Balme marked a 40th season in Open-class shearing by successfully defending the Agrodome Shears Open title at the Rotorua A and P Show on Saturday.

Originally from Tahuna, north of Morrinsville, Balme was based in Tuakau, south of Pukekohe, when he entered the top class in the 1986-1987 summer and had his first Open win at Kaikohe that season.

Now long based near Otorohanga, in King Country, he last year clocked-up his own 60th year, and passed the handpiece over 13,000 sheep, possibly the reason he’s still capable of mixing it with the best, even sons of former competition shearing mates.

Digger Balme and son Kyle (left) celebrate the win at prizegiving time). From left Kyle Balme, Digger Balme, Forde Alexander, Justin Meikle, Lionel Taumata, James Ruki.

According to a former fellow finalist from the 1980s, Apiti shearing judge Russell Knight, who was also commentating on Saturday during Balme’s absence from the microphone to shear the five-man final of 20 sheep each: “He’s still shearing.”

But for Balme, it’s more personal, knowing how much autistic son Kyle loves the shows, his heroes, and the chance to get up on stage when dad’s collecting a ribbon.

“The biggest joy I get is taking Kyle,” he said. “He also loves the people that look after him when I’m shearing, or on the microphone. When you see something like that it really touches your heart. I don’t go to the shows to win.”

But, long known for a tearaway approach he held it together well on Stand 1 in the five-man final, as the focus seemed to be on whether Taumarunui shearer and 2024 Golden Shears and New Zealand Shears Senior champion Forde Alexander at the other end of the board could claim his first Open win, in just his second season in the grade.

Shearing the 20 sheep in 18m 54.4s, Alexander was first to finish, beating Balme by just 3.1 seconds, but the veteran nailed it with the best quality points, including the judging in the pens, to beat Alexander by 2.895pts.

Third was Justin Meikle, of Oamaru, Gore-based Lionel Taumata, from Taumarunui, was fourth, and fifth was Piopio shearer James Ruki, who won the Rotorua Intermediate title in 1998, when Balme won the Open title for the first time.

Saturday’s win started a scramble through the history, with Shearing Sports New Zealand having maintained collated results nationally since only the 1992-1992 season, when shearing competitions emerged .

But with some material available from previous years Balme has had at least 85 Open-class wins, in New Zealand, Australia and the UK, in an era when World and Golden Shears champions Sir David Fagan, Paul Avery, John Kirkpatrick and Rowland Smith have amassed well over 1000 between them.

Balme has reached nine Golden Shears Open finals, with a best of second place to 16-times winner Fagan in 1998, and having been in a New Zealand team to the UK in 1992 got closest to a World championships chance when third in 2003, falling short by just 0.65 points when the first two went through, and then won the World teams title in Scotland.

In 1999 he also set a World eight-hours strongwool lambs record of 621, during a three-stand record in a King Country record, and has since become a go-to for crews at other record attempts, as venue commentator and presenter, including live-streaming from the Golden Shears, as well as becoming a certificated judge.

Napier shearer Kaivah Cooper continued a sequence of wins in his first season in the Senior grade, Meikle’s son, Tye Meikle, won the Intermediate final, and the Junior final was won by young Irish shearer Sean Dunne, who was pen-boy for Balme in the Open final.

The Open woolhandling final was won by Vinniye Phillips, of Taumarunui, beating six-times Rotorua winner Keryn Herbert, of Te Kuiti.

It was the first win of the season for Phillips, the 2024 Golden Shears Senior champion who made an immediate impression last summer with three wins in the Open class, and fourth place in the Golden Shears Open final. Ana Braddick, of Eketahuna, was third, and Lucas Broughton, of Gisborne, was fourth.

The Senior woolhandling title was won by Te Whetu Brown, from Wairoa – her fourth win in the grade - and Paige Marshall, of Kihikihi, scored a second Rotorua Junior final win.

The show attracted 45 shearers (Open 8, Senior 11, Intermediate 14, Junior 12) and 27 woolhandlers (Open 11, Senior 7, Junior 9).

The next competitions in the North Island are on the weekend of January 17-18.

RESULTS from the Agrodome Rotorua A and P shearing and woohandling championships at Ngongotaha on Saturday, December 6, 2025:

Shearing:

Open final (20 sheep): Digger Balme (Otorohanga) 18m 57.6s, 63.53pts, 1; Forde Alexander (Taumarunui) 18m 54.5s, 66.425ptd, 2; Justin Meikle (Oamaru) 19m 24.6s, 66.48pts, 3; Lionel Taumata (Taumarunui/Gore) 20m 59.4s, 72.52pts, 4; James Ruki (Piopio) 21m 53.8s, 74.24pts, 5.

Senior final (12 sheep): Kaivah Cooper (Napier) 13m 52.3s, 51.4483pts, 1; Callum Bosley (England/Otorohanga) 14m 24.2s, 53.1267pts, 2; Ryka Swann (Wairoa) 14m 37s, 53.2667pts, 3; Emma Martin (Gore) 17m 26.7s, 58.5017pts, 4; Dalton Tangiwai (Pahiatua) 17m 51.9s, 59.9283pts, 5.

Intermediate final (8 sheep): Tye Meikle (Oamaru) 10m 0.9s, 36.795pts, 1; Marshall Buckman (Apiti) 10m 33.5s, 39.8pts, 2; Paddy Hudson (Hokonui) 10m 42.9s, 39.89.5s, 3; Sonya Fagan (Te Kuiti) 10m 58.2s, 42.91pts, 4; Riley Norman (Eketahuna) 12m 35s, 44.875pts, 5.

Junior final (5 sheep): Sean Dunne (Wicklow, Ireland) 9m 51.2s, 33.16pts, 1; Cam Henson (Woodville) 10m 49.9s, 39.895pts, 2; Chloe Bingham (Port Waikato) 11m 54.4s, 42.52pts, 3; Deakin Mullins-Henry (Dannevirke) 10m 48.6s, 43.83pts, 4; Ilan Hughes (Machynlleth, Wales) 11m 3.3s, 44.565pts, 5.

Woolhandling:

Open final: Vinniye Phillips (Taumarunui) 31.19pts, 1; Keryn Herbert (Te Kuiti) 34.606pts, 2; Anna Braddick (Eketahuna) 35.19pts, 3; Lucas Broughton (Gisborne) 78.938pts, 4.

Senior final: Te Whetu Brown (Wairoa/Napier) 52.03pts, Laura Bradley (Papatawa) 63.22pts, 2; Sonya Fagan (Te Kuiti) 63.97pts, 3; Emma Martin (Gore) 72.6pts, 4.

Junior final: Paige Marshall (Kihikihi) 41.66pts, 1; Chloe Bingham (Port Waikato) 42.766pts, 2; Miracle Waikato (Flaxmere) 43.488pts, 3; Zamal Ropiha (Hastings) 82.37pts, 4.

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