Ashlin Swann, 15, winning the novice shearing final on the opening day of the 2024 Golden Shears in Masterton, emulating brother Ryka, who won in 2020. Photo / Peter Nikolaison
Ashlin Swann, 15, winning the novice shearing final on the opening day of the 2024 Golden Shears in Masterton, emulating brother Ryka, who won in 2020. Photo / Peter Nikolaison
A 15-year-old Wairoa College student claimed first bragging rights for the growing number of female shearers at the Golden Shears by winning the novice final yesterday.
Ashlin Swann was one of five Hawke’s Bay-based competitors who made the final six.
It was a family affair for Swann, who was in Masterton with her twin sister, fellow novice shearer Shawna, her brother, 2020 novice winner Ryka, and her father, wool-presser and open-class shearer Paul Swann. Mum Sonya was at home running the Ardkeen farm.
Having been fourth of the 61 in the heats and third qualifier from the semifinals, Swann was slowest in the final, shearing the two sheep in 7m 27.019s.
She was two minutes slower than the first to finish, 18-year-old Ryan Craw, from Coromandel, currently in his first year in cadet farm training at Pukemiro, near Dannevirke.
There was a big Hawke’s Bay influence all around in the final: third-placed Craw and fifth-placed Grady Collis, from Tauhoa, in Northland, earlier won the MKM Students Challenge for Pukemiro, and fourth- and sixth-placed Rebecca Dickson and Bugs Butler were the Tikokino-based Smedley team who finished second.
Swann, who first shore a full sheep in the Hawke’s Bay Show schools competition in October 2022, has become a regular in recent competitions in the lower and central North Island and has won at Taihape, Marton, Aria and Te Puke since late January.
She said she goes up to junior class at her next competition, probably the New Zealand Shears in Te Kuiti next month.
But despite her increasing experience, she said she was “nervous” when she got onto the Masterton War Memorial Stadium stage.
“I was shaking as soon as I got up there.
“I was very scared.”
Swann takes every chance to shear when her dad needs sheep shorn on the farm, and he obligingly lets her go to it while he “gets on the broom”. She also grabs every chance to compete, as long as her dad is taking her.
Keisha Reairi, 19, from Masterton and now based in Piopio, on the way to winning the Golden Shears novice woolhandling title. Photo / Pete Nikolaison
Meanwhile, the Paewai Mullins novice woolhandling final was won by 19-year-old Keisha Reiri.
Reiri is originally from Masterton but now works for Piopio contractor Mark Barrowcliffe with her mum Azuredee Paku, who won the New Zealand Shears senior woolhandling title in Te Kuiti in 2021.
Among a small number of competition entries in the last two seasons, Reiri won the North Island Championships novice final at the Rangitikei Shearing Sports in Marton last year.
Yesterday judges awarded her the best fleece points, a telling advantage in a 7-point win over runner-up Gemma Buick of Pongaroa, who had the best points on the board and oddments, and equal-best time points.
Pukemiro farm cadets Ryan Craw (left) and Grady Collis, both 18, are congratulated by commentator and presenter Tuma Mullins after winning the Student Challenge shearing match on the first day of the 2024 Golden Shears in Masterton. Photo / Pete Nikolaison
The first night of the shears was the domain of the speedsters, and the top three speed-shear competitors made it to the final of the open speed shear.
It was won by Masterton shearer Paerata Abraham with a quickest time of 17.789 seconds in the three-man showdown, with Jimmy Samuels of Marton the runner-up and Jack Fagan of Te Kuiti third.
Forde Alexander, of Taumarunui, won the senior speed shear, with a quickest time of 18.646sec, with Southland shearer Nathan Bee placed second and King Country shearer Taelor Tarrant third.
