Schoolboy shearer tops class

Schoolboy Masterton shearing prodigy David Gordon notched up another big win by taking the national junior lambshearing title in Raglan on Saturday, emulating a win by sister Cushla in the same event two years ago.
The win was the 14-year-old's biggest since his victory in the novice final at the 50th anniversary Golden Shears last March and was achieved against interesting opposition in a five-shearer final. Heilin Thomas, from Lampeter, Wales, was second, English World championships woolhandler Natalie Crisp was third, and fifth was David Avery, son of 2008 World champion and two-times Golden Shears open champion Paul Avery.
Shearing his three lambs in 5m 39s, Gordon third off the board, was just beaten by Thomas and 16 seconds behind first-shearer Tui Pene, of Waipawa. But he claimed easily the best quality marks and went to the prizegiving with a comfortable winning margin of 4.617 points.
Fellow Masterton teenager Matene Mason managed just fourth in the senior final, but was rewarded in dramatic fashion later with victory in the senior class of the Te Mata Club Speedshear, claiming a first prize of $1000. He had also shorn the fastest time in the preliminary, but only made his way into the final with a successful appeal against disqualification.
New Year's resolution or not, Napier shearer John Kirkpatrick made a profound statement of his intentions for 2011 when he won his first New Zealand Lambshearing Championship at Raglan.
It was one of the few major New Zealand titles the 40-year-old 2002 and 2008 Golden Shears open champion hadn't won, and it extended his season's record to three from three in New Zealand, having spent much of the time working around Hamilton, Victoria.
It wasn't good news for southern shearers who this week will try to break his domination of the Northern Southland Community Shears title in Lumsden and the National Crossbred Lambs Championship at the Winton A&P Show, a Friday-Saturday double he'll be out to win for a fourth time.
In November, Kirkpatrick made a short trip home from Australia to win another Friday-Saturday double, the NZ Corriedale title in Christchurch and the Central Hawke's Bay Shears in Waipukurau.
Clearly elated to overcome his Raglan bogey, he said he still has no plans to do anything else in sport, other than chasing the shows, and watching the exploits of son and Super Rugby player Daniel and his two daughters.
"With the world championships in Masterton next year, everyone will be going for it," he said.
Runner-up at Raglan last year, he finally claimed the title on Saturday by turning the tables on Paul Avery, having only his second competition of a season otherwise dominated by his training for his multi-sports debut in the Coast to Coast in the South Island next month.
New world champion Cam Ferguson, the youngest in the five-man final, was third, just two days before his bid for a world record of 736 lambs in eight hours yesterday.
There was disaster for shearing icon David Fagan who shore the last five sheep missing the bottom tooth of his second comb, and having to settle for fourth overall.
Nephew James Fagan was first to finish - his 14m 39s for 20 lambs beating Kirkpatrick by 13 seconds - but suffered heavily in judging and was placed fifth.
There was still some silverware for the family to take back to Te Kuiti, with David Fagan's son, Jack, winning the intermediate final, his biggest win to date and despite being last to finish his four-lamb final. His better quality enabled him to win from runner-up Damon Macdonald, of Coroglen, and Irish shearer Robert Davidson, who won the race but also lost the advantage in the judging pens.
The superior quality of Gisborne shearer Wi Ngarangione claimed him the senior final over 12 lambs, at the scene of one of his few defeats in the intermediate grade last season.
David Fagan ended the visit to Raglan in style when he won the Open speedshear.
More results at www.shearingsports.co.nz