Avery takes the honours at Pahiatua

Masterton seems sets for a 46th cracking Golden Shears week after Sunday's Pahiatua Shears in which the four guns of the moment all reached the open final, but still had old master David Fagan to beat.
In the end, the 44-year-old Fagan was well beaten, and there was a convincing win to Taranaki farmer Paul Avery, 38, who last year became only the second shearer apart from Fagan to win the coveted Golden Shears open since 1989.
But no one was prepared afterwards to shut the door on King Country icon Fagan who heads for Masterton marking the 20th anniversary of the first of his 15 open crowns.
Avery, who went within an ace of a cleansweep of pre-shears weekend competitions by winning at the Apiti sports on Saturday and finishing second to Napier Golden Shears hope Dion King, 31, in Taumarunui on Friday, put a sheep around three of the finalists, including Fagan.
The gentleman Avery cut his 20-sheep pen out in a brisk 15 minutes 40.54 seconds, only 2002 Golden Shears champion John Kirkpatrick, 35, keeping-up any sort of chase. But for a bit of a flyer at the end of his own pen and a tougher couple for the in-command Avery, he would also have hit suffered the relative humiliation of also seeing Avery send his last through the porthole before getting his own last on to the board.
Kirkpatrick was still 35 seconds down, but eventually ceded second place to Te Kuiti shearer Dean Ball, the latest of a run of sure-bet sure-bet trifecta placings as the country's top shearers gear-up for a ravenous attack on the biggie in Masterton.
Fagan-willing, of course, for, having failed to reach the finals on the previous two days but with a victory over the same four opponents in the final of the Agrodome Shears in Rotorua last month in his credentials, showed some considerable mettle yesterday by being second-fastest qualifier for both the semi-finals and finals yesterday.
Ball was runner-up to Avery on Saturday, third at Taumarunui the day before, and third to King in the Otago open final in Balclutha a fortnight earlier.
His worst result since winning at Dannevirke at the start oif the month had been fourth placings in the Avery's North Island Championships at Feilding and to Kirkpatrick in last week's Southern Shears.
Marking their 35th anniversary, the Pahiatua Shears and held at Balfour Farm for all-but the first time, moved yesterday to the town's Richmond Stadium, with 39 in the open field.
The senior final was won by Troy Pyper, of Invercargill, in a surprise defeat of Northland gun Rowland Smith, while Bevan Holm, of Dannevirke, won the intermediate title and the junior winner was Hayzlee Gray, of Tikokino.
The big guns took part in a Speedshear at the Dudley Arms, Mangatainoka, on Saturday night, but were all beaten by former nine-houe lambshearing record holder Rodney Sutton, of Porangahau.
At the Dannevirke woolhandling championships yesterday, Sheree Alabaster, of Taihape, scored an important pre-shears victory by taking the open title, ahead of World champion Joanne Kumeroa, of Wanganui.
Results from the 35th Pahiatua Shears in Pahiatua:
Open final (20sheep): Paul Avery (Stratford) 15m40.54s
55.227pts 1, Dean Ball (Te Kuiti) 16m28.32s 57.666pts 2, John
Kirkpatrick (Napier) 16m15.20s 58.56pts 3, David Fagan (Te
Kuiti) 16m44.97s 60.098pts 4, Dion King (Napier) 16m44.97s
60.5pts 5.
Senior final(10 sheep): Troy Pyper (Invercargill) 11m1.85s
40.2pts 1, Rowland Smith (Ruawai) 10m36.64s 41.8pts 2, Richie
Maguire (Pio Pio) 11m13.88s 44.3pts 3, Cody Waihape (Mataura)
10m47.46s 44.7pts 4, Paerata Abraham (Dannevirke) 10m9.28s
45.8pts 5.
Intermediate Final (six sheep): Bevan Holm (Dannevirke)
7m31.26s 31.896pts 1, Tane Henderson (Kaiwaka) 8m46.46s
33.49pts 2, Tai Hoera (Dannevirke) 8m6.96s 35.014pts 3,
Jonathon Mason (Dannevirke) 8m34.7s 35.901pts 4, James Tutuvaha
(Masterton) 8m3.45s 37.839pts 5.
Junior: Hayzlee Gray (Dannevirke) 30.912pts 1, Toa Henderson (Kaiwaka) 31.144pts 2, Camillus Mulholland (Ireland) 32.008pts 3, Matthew Evans (Wales) 32.194pts 4, Maaka Rangiwai (Mataura) 33.08pts 5.
Results from the Dannevirke woolhandling championships, also held yesterday:
Open: Sheree Alabaster (Taihape) 1, Huia Puna-White
(Christchurch) 2, Joanne Kumeroa (Wanganui) 3.
Senior: Pagan Rimene (Cromwell) 1, Hanatia Tipene (Porangahau)
2, Tuma Mullins (Dannevirke) 3.
Junior: Donna Eriha (Dannevirke) 1, Aria Mullins (Dannevirke)
2, Alicia Alexander (Eketahuna) 3.