Henare Gets A Shot At A World Champs Treble Double

Gun woolhandler Joel Henare will have a crack at a third Golden Shears World Championships double after guaranteeing selection in the New Zealand team for the 2026 championships in Masterton on March 4-7.

Henare, who won World individual and teams titles in both Masterton in 2012 and Invercargill in 2017, and also competed at the 2014 championships in Ireland, claimed this year’s position as winner of a six-round near year-long Shearing Sports New Zealand Selection series which ended at the Taihape Shears on Saturday.

But it was close, with Motueka-based Henare, from Gisborne, brought-up around the woolsheds of Central Otago and now living in Motueka, winning only on a countback of best placings after a points tie with Alexandra woolhandler, 2019 teams champion and new shearing record-holder Pagan Rimene, who now takes part in a six-competitor final in Marton on February 7 to establish the second representative.

Competing with Rimene in the showdown will be Tia Potae (Milton/Kennedy Bay), Foonie Waihape (Alexandra), Cushla Abraham (Masterton) and Eketahuna sisters Marika Braddick and Ngaio Hanson.

In a series where competitors counted their best five results, Hanson made the late charge, claiming the maximum nine points in winning the Taihape Shears Open fina after having amassed just nine points in the rest of the completion, having followed a similar pathway in getting to the 2023 championships in Scotland.

Reigning Golden Shears Open and New Zealand Shears champion To Henderson, of Kaiwaka, Northland, went into the last round of the shearing series already guaranteed of his first place at a World championships, but the six for the machines shoothout was confirmed only in the last seconds at Taihape, when Te Kuiti shearer Jack Fagan, son of multiple World champion Sir David Fagan, claimed a crucial Taihape Open third place, to be last-man-in, ending the hopes of 2017 champion and Hawke’s By veteran John Kirkpatrick on another countback of best placings.

Battling for the second machine shearing place in the team with another showdown in Marton will be David Buick, of Pongaroa, 2014 champion Rowland Smith, of Maraekakaho, in Hawke’s Bay, 2017 teams champion Nathan Stratford and fellow Southland shearer Casey Bailey, of Invercargill, Hemi Braddick (brother of Ngaio Hanson) and Jack Fagan.

Blades shearers and 2019 champions Allan Oldfield and Tony Dobbs confirmed their places at another World championships when their selection series ended in November.

The 20th World championships, attracted teams from 28 countries, will run in conjunction with the 63rd Golden Shears international championships, which have attracted about 630 entries.

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