Shearing champ boosts Levin API show
Because the organisers of the shearing competition at the Horowhenua AP&I Show take entries on the morning of competition, it can be an anxious wait to see who turns up.
So when current New Zealand champion shearer Roland Smith came walking around the corner with his gear ready to enrol, it added a real buzz to the competition.
Smith, 34, knocked on the door of the event caravan just like every other shearer to register his entry, and took a seat in the shade to wait for his call to the shearing shed.
For the six-foot-six-inch Smith, the Levin show last month was a chance to gain some match fitness as he attempts to retain his Golden Shears title at Masterton in early March.
But class shone through and he didn’t disappoint, shearing 20 sheep in the final in a time of 17 minutes and 11 seconds, putting him 1.95 points clear of runner-up David Buick, from Pongaroa.
Smith hailed from a shearing background as his father and brothers were shearers, and shearing had taken him all over the world — Latvia, Finland, USA, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.
“I’ve travelled the world on the back of a handpiece,” he said.
“It’s a great industry to be part of.”
It was a warm day in Levin. As shearing was a physically demanding sport, it was vitally important that all shearers kept themselves hydrated and started the day with a hearty meal.
So, what did Smith have for breakfast?
“Bacon, eggs and avocado,” he said. “It’s just about being sensible. It doesn’t have to be technical. You just have to eat good stuff.”
But Smith, who would often shear as many as 400 sheep a day, was in the shed less often in recent times as a new business was demanding more of his attention.
He had only started shearing again early in the New Year after taking some time away to concentrate on the new business venture based in the Hawkes Bay — Smith Ag Services.
“I do enjoy competing though. I’ve made a lot of good friends and it’s a good chance to catch up with everyone,” he said.
Smith said competition shearing, made famous by trailblazers like Godfrey Bowen and David Fagan, was a great way to showcase the industry and the hard work people put in, day after day.
“That’s what the shows about . . . improving the industry,” he said.
Sir David Fagan, from Te Kuiti, won the New Zealand Golden Shears a record 16 times. He set 10 world records and won five world, six world team, and 16 national titles, making him New Zealand’s
most successful competition sheep shearer.
In 1953, Godfrey Bowen became “world-famous in New Zealand” when he broke the world record by shearing 456 full-wool ewes in nine hours at O¯ piki.
A British newspaper once compared Bowen’s shearing with the “grace” of Nureyev’s dancing “Bowen technique” — and he helped lift the profile
of shearing as a sport and tourist attraction.
Those journalists would no doubt also be searching for descriptions had they seen Smith, who is all grace with his long arms that seems to float through the fleece.
Meanwhile, Masterton shearer Adam Gordon continued to show his promise, winning the Intermediate final at Levin.
Two years ago Gordon became the first person to win Golden Shears shearing and wool handling titles in the same year with a double on the opening day of the 2019 champs in Masterton.
Levin shearers were among the medals, with Darren Bryant taking out the Junior final and Aaron Christensen winning the Novice title.
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The Levin event was the only shearing sports event in the North Island during the weekend and attracted a record 53 shearers, more entrants than the Wairoa A&P Show the previous weekend.
Horowhenua AP&I secretary Jill Timms said as a result they had record entries with three novice, 11 junior, 11 intermediate, 17 senior, and 17 open shearers competing.
Organiser Donald Bryant said he was pleased with the turnout, with twice as many shearers entered as last year, and they were fortunate to have plenty of sheep on hand.
“You have to have a few chuck-outs, but there weren’t many spare. We used 515,” he said.
The stands were packed all day for competition at Levin, and onlookers were treated to some brilliant and informed insight from live commentator Morgan Lissington, aided by Jimmy Samuels.