The Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhamdling Championships take place in Scotland next week. Photo / File
The Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhamdling Championships take place in Scotland next week. Photo / File
New Zealand shearers Rowland Smith and Leon Samuels have made a spectacular start to their preparations in the UK for next week’s Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Scotland.
They were first and third respectively in the open final at the Royal Cornwall Show at Wadebridge, separated by Smith’s brother, Matt Smith, who farms just 20km away and will be shearing for England at the June 22-25 championships at the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston, Edinburgh.
Rowland has now won 173 open finals since first appearing in the top grade in 2006-2007.
The five-man final of 20 sheep each, took place on Friday (early Saturday New Zealand time) and featured five of the fastest shearers in the world - the trio, plus English shearers Stuart Connor and Nick Greaves.
All finalists were eight-hour or nine-hour World Record-holders and were separated by just five seconds at the finish.
Rowland Smith, who won the world title in Ireland in 2014 and was runner-up to Welsh shearer Richard Jones in France three years ago, holds the world eight-hour strong wool ewes record of 644.
Matt Smith holds the nine-hour ewes record of 731 and Samuels once held the eight-hour ewes record at 605 and shares an eight-hour four-stand lamb shearing record.
Fifth placegetter Nick Greaves in August last year shore 881 lambs in nine hours under England record rules during a two-stand big-day-out on his family farm in Staffordshire.
At the weekend, Rowland Smith and Connor, who worked together in Smith’s run in Hawke’s Bay during the New Zealand summer, finished blow-for-blow in 15min 33sec.
Samuels, in his first competition in the UK since arriving the previous Sunday, was next three seconds later, just pipping Matt Smith, who clocked 15min 38sec.
With time and quality points together, Rowland Smith won by just 0.1pts from his brother, who had marginally the better quality points.
This was in reverse of the result from six days earlier when Matt retained the Royal Bath and West Open title in Somerset, barely 48 hours after Rowland had arrived from New Zealand.
The Wools of New Zealand Shearing Sports New Zealand team for the 19th Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships at the Royal Highland Show, in Scotland, on June 22-25. Photo / Supplied
Prior to that, the brothers were third and fourth behind Welsh World Championships team members Richard Jones and Gwion Evans at the Staffordshire County Show on June 1, just hours after Rowland’s arrival in the UK.
All are expected to shear at the Royal Three Counties Show at Malvern, Worcestershire, on Friday-Sunday, before heading north for the World Championships.
Two other members of the Wools of New Zealand Shearing Sports New Zealand World Championships team, defending champion blades shearers Allan Oldfield, from Geraldine, and Tony Dobbs, of Fairlie, have also been competing in the UK.
Dobbs was second to England rival Andrew Mudge in the open blades final at the Royal Bath and West Show in what will be his only competition before the World Championships, while Oldfield, who arrived in the UK last week, shore a machine shearing event at the Angus Show at the Brechin Castle Showground in Scotland on Saturday and will be shearing at the Three Counties show this week.
The New Zealand team also includes woolhandlers Candy Hiri, of Mataura, and Ngaio Hanson, of Eketāhuna, who in Scotland will be defending the teams’ title won by Pagan Rimene and Sheree Alabaster in France.
Listen to Jamie Mackay interview shearing legend Sir David Fagan on The Country below:
Also in the UK is the mainly New Zealand-based Cook Islands team of machine shearers.
The team is made up of Australia-based Jovan Taiki, from Porangahau, Alex Smith, of Mataura, and woolhandlers Keryn Herbert, of Te Kuiti, and Tina Elers, of Mataura.
As a New Zealand representative, Herbert won the teams title with Alabaster in Wales in 2010, and Elers was third in the individual final when the Cook Islands was first represented at the World Championships in Invercargill in 2017.
The 2023 championships, the 19th dating back to the first in England in 1977, have attracted entries from 28 countries.
Results from the Royal Cornwall Show open final
Royal Cornwall Show open final (20 sheep): Rowland Smith (Maraekakaho) 15min 33sec, 58.85pts, 1; Matt Smith (Cornwall, England) 15min 38sec, 58.95pts, 2; Leon Samuels (Roxburgh) 15min 37sec, 62.15pts, 3; Stu Connor (Oxfordshire, England) 15min 33sec, 62.5pts, 4; Nick Greaves (Staffordshire, England) 16min 44sec, 65.2pts, 5.
