Shearers battle it out at Royal Show

Bart Hadfield, who earlier this year won the Ahuwhenua Trophy for Maori Excellence in Farming at his family property near Wairoa, in his voluntary role as a shearing judge during the Great Raihania Shears Open shearing final. The shearer on Stand 1 was Hastings gun Dion King, who was third.

Some of the top shearers and woolhandlers were also among the top workers as the Great Raihania Shears marked an historic move to an international-classs six-stand shearing board with a series of firsts at the Royal Show in Hastings on Friday.

Golden Shears winners John Kirkpatrick and Rowland Smith and fellow world record-breaking shearer Doug Smith were all among those who helped raise the thousands of dollars needed for the event, and then helped in either the erecting or dismantling of the stage which was borrowed from the Rangitikei Shearing Sports in Marton and trucked-in by event sponsor Bushett's Transport.

Shearing contractor Colin Watson Paul, who's headed Shearing Sports Hawke's Bay since the revival of the Hawke's Bay Show shearing competition in 2004, said: "That fact we've got all those people involved is really neat. I don't know if any other committee would have that."

The shearers had all been among about 40 who had parts to play in the shearing and crutching days during the year to raise about $10,000 needed to help fund the event.

Rowland Smith and Kirkpatrick were to get some of it back, as winner and runner-up in the 20-sheep Open shearing, as first and second in the Open shearing competition, while another of the workers to triumph was Kirkpatrick's daughter, Angela, winner of the Junior woolhandling final.

The string of firsts included 2014 World champion Rowland Smith's victory, his first in the Hastings event. There was a breakthrough for Te Karaka's Mary-Anne Baty, who beat Golden Shears and 2012 World champion Joel Henare in winning her first Open woolhandling title after three years of trying.

Catherine Mullooly, of Matawai, became the first woman to win the Senior shearing title, young Raupunga shearer Hemi Lambert had his first Intermediate win, and Eli Raheke of Porangahau, scored his first win by claiming the Junior shearing title.

The other winner was 15-year-old Marika Braddick, of Eketahuna, who made it two-from-two in her Senior woolhandling career, having also won at Gisborne last week.

It was a particularly popular win for Te Karaka woolhandler Baty, who hadn't won a final since the 2011-2012 season.

Results of the Great Raihania Shears at the Royal Show in Hastings on Friday, October 23, 2015:

Shearing:

Open final (20 sheep): Rowland Smith (Hastings) 18min 30.28sec, 69.614pts, 1; John Kirkpatrick (Napier) 17min 54.19sec, 69.81pts, 2; Dion King (Hastings) 17min 54.82sec, 70.541pts, 3; Murray Henderson (Feilding) 20min 12sec, 77.1pts, 4; Paerata Abraham (Dannevirke) 21min 16.59sec, 81.08pts, 5; Aaron Haynes (Feilding) 20min 52.15sec, 81.408pts, 6.

Senior final (10 sheep): Catherine Mullooly (Matawai) 13min 27sec, 61.15pts, 1; Bevan Pere (Gisborne) 13min 46sec, 61.8pts, 2; Jean-Pierre Bouyer (Hastings) 14min 2sec, 62.3pts, 3; Jacob Moore (Marton) 13min 53sec, 65.85pts, 4; Tui Pene (Waipawa) 13min 12sec, 68.3pts, 5; D J Crawford (Gisborne) 12min 57sec, 68.45pts, 6.

Intermediate final (6 sheep): Hemi Lambert (Raupunga) 8min, 36.333pts, 1; Nick Greaves (Staffordshire, England) 8min 23sec, 40.817pts, 2; Carlton Aranui (Raupunga) 8min 41sec, 41.717pts, 3; Liam Quinlivan (Waipukurau) 8min 48sec, 42.9pts, 4; Anaru Wakefield (Porangahau) 8min 22sec, 43.267pts, 5; Laura Bradley (Woodville) 10min 7sec, 48.183pts, 6.

Junior final (4 sheep): Eli Raheke (Porangahau) 7min 2sec, 34.1pts, 1; Ruka Braddick (Eketahuna) 7min 17sec, 38.1pts, 2; Connor Puha (Apiti) 9min 14sec, 47.7pts, 3; Cody Greig (Foxton) 9min 41sec, 52.3pts, 4; Selwyn Tapine (Wairoa) 6min 42sec, 54.35pts, 5; Tom Hall (Feilding) 8min 49sec, 57.45pts, 6.

Woolhandling:

Open final: Mary-Anne Baty (Te Karaka) 97.75pts, 1; Joel Henare (Gisborne) 117.91pts, 2; Sheree Alabaster (Taihape) 166.82pts, 3; Monica Potae (Milton) 4.

Senior final: Marika Braddick (Eketahuna) 135.56sec, 1; Erica Reti (Balfour) 158.16pts, 2; Melanie Barrett (Gore)161.62pts, 3; Keoni Ngarangione (Gisborne) 173.06pts, 4.

Junior final: Angela Kirkpatrick (Napier) 105.09pts, 1; Nye Kerekere (Gisborne) 111.882pts, 2; Bianca Hawea (Masterton) 3; Samantha Tipene (Eketahnua).