Southern pair vie for Golden Shears Open title
A 35-year Golden Shears Open title drought could be about to end for the South Island, with two Mainlanders strong contenders to win the ultimate shearing prize, according to one of the sport’s experts.
More than 300 shearers, wool handlers and pressers from across New Zealand and abroad have converged on Masterton and are gearing up for the Golden Shears, which will begin today.
About 25 events will be held over the three days, but the Golden Shears Open was the glamour event of the season, media officer for Shearing Sports New Zealand Doug Laing said.
Sixty shearers will compete to win one of six spots in the final, shearing 20 secondshear ewes on Saturday evening.
Judges will inspect the quality of the shearing, adding points for blemishes, with shearers earning one point for every 20 seconds they take to get through their sheep. The winner will have the least amount of points.
It was the Wimbledon of shearing, and the South Island was coming back with a vengeance, Laing said.
Rowland Smith, of Hawke’s Bay, was the perennial crowd favourite, having won eight opens, with Toa Henderson, of Kaiwaka, coming in close behind.
But two men from the south could take his crown, Laing said.
He expected Leon Samuels, of Alexandra, and Nathan Stratford, of Invercargill, to be giving Smith and other contenders a run for their money.
The South Island initially had a strong hand in the Golden Shears Open, with Brian “Snow” Quinn of Tuatāpere dominating the Open, taking out six titles from 1961, when the competition began, to 1972, Laing said.
The last South Island winner was Edsel Forde in 1989, but with Samuels’ speed and Stratford’s precision, bragging rights could return, Laing said.
“Leon Samuels, in particular, because his speed is good, and if he is able to maintain the quality, he’d be in.”
But any fell swoop could have Stratford in with the win, Laing said. “[Stratford] is renowned for his quality. He’s usually just off the pace, but he’s won a few good titles because of his quality, so if the guys just make a couple of blemishes, it’ll take him right into the reckoning.”
Stratford said he had come close to winning a few times, coming second three
times, with multiple placings at third, fourth and fifth over the years.
“It’s a hard road to get that purple ribbon. You’ve got to get the right pen and sheep, the gear’s got to be going right, and you’ve got to be going right.”
Stratford said Henderson was going strong this year, but the open was anyone’s win to take. “There’s probably 12 good shearers that can probably win it ... you’ve
just got to get through the rounds and get to the final, and hopefully go from there.”
Stratford will have a busy Golden Shears. He was the top-ranked shearer going into the PGG Wrightson Vetmed National Shearing Circuit. A 27-strong field is now down to 12, who will compete in semifinals before the six-man final. In this event, they shear 15 sheep (three from each of five wool types).