KEY POINTS:
World champion Paul Avery has again become New Zealand's top lambshearer by winning another national lambshearing championships at the Western Shears in Raglan.
In a 20-lamb final on Saturday, the 42-year-old Taranaki farmer won the title for a third time, beating runner-up and world championships teammate John Kirkpatrick of Napier by 1.744 points, a comfortable margin in the context of the history of the event.
The two were first and second respectively at the world championships in Norway in October, where they won the world teams title.
On Saturday they were strictly opponents, as Avery added the title to his previous Raglan successes in 2000 and 2005, leaving Kirkpatrick still without a win in the event.
Taranaki-based Scotsman Gavin Mutch was first off the board in 14min 49.84sec, beating Avery by 12, but lesser quality pushed him back into third place, stopping him from repeating his 2006 win in the event, regarded as one of the most significant victories by an overseas shearer in New Zealand.
Last year's winner, Dean Ball, of Te Kuiti, was fourth, and surprise finalist Rowland Smith, of Ruawai, was fifth.
The senior title was won by first-year senior Mark Grainger, son of 1985 Golden Shears open champion and Te Kuiti gun Paul Grainger. The intermediate title was won by Tipene Te Whata, son of former World lambshearing record holder Sam Te Whata.
Masterton teenager Cushla Gordon used the woman's touch of quality over speed to win the junior championship, despite being last off the board in her four-lamb final.
Te Awamutu claimed two of the three woolhandling titles, 29-year-old Keryn Herbert adding the open championship to the New Zealand Spring Championship she won at Waimate in October, and Cathy Christey, also 29, winning the junior title, the first win of her career after two years of trying. The senior woolhandling title was won by Angela Aldridge of Te Kuiti.
Among those beaten by Herbert was world champion Sheree Alabaster, who failed to make the top four for the final in her first competition since her victory in Norway.
The championships, affected by rain throughout the day, attracted 137 shearers and woolhandlers, almost all from the North Island. Several are expected to travel south for the national crossbred lambshearing championships at Winton on January 16.
The open shearing heats were the fourth of five qualifying rounds in the Wrightson PGG national series. The fifth is at Pahiatua at the end of next month which will determine qualifiers for the semifinals and final during the Golden Shears in Masterton in March.
Meanwhile, 43-year-old former world eight-hour lambshearing record holder Digger Balme, from Te Kuiti, won the Te Mata Social Club Speedshear on Friday night, with a fastest time of 14.52sec for a lamb in the final, doing top qualifier Cam Ferguson, 27, of Waipawa, out of the $2000 winning purse.
- NZPA
