Giving it ago pays for Baty

Woolhandler Joel Henare will represent New Zealand at the World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Invercargill next year. Photo / Lynda van Kempen

Gisborne woolhandler Maryanne Baty has gained dramatic selection in the New Zealand team for the 2017 World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Invercargill.

Baty, who turned 31 last Wednesday, celebrated the following day at the Canterbury A&P Show in Christchurch by being runner-up in the top-three final of a selection series that began 10 months ago.

She joins fellow Gisborne woolhandler and series favourite Joel Henare, the 2012 World Champion set to represent New Zealand at a third world championships, aged just 25.

Both showed some emotion for Alexandra woolhandler Pagan Karauria, who had flown from Australia for the final, as she had done for the last points round three weeks ago, and was denied at the last hurdle.

"I know how hard she worked," Henare said.

While Henare won five of the six points rounds that culled an original field of more than 20 to just six for the Christchurch semifinal and final showdown, Baty had not given herself a show when she went to the Royal Show in Hastings in October in 10th place, with a seemingly near-impossible gap of four points from sixth.

But with third place on the day, and second-place points in the series, she scraped in on a countback of best placings.

In Christchurch, she placed third in the first round, ousting three more favoured opponents, including 2008 world champion Sheree Alabaster, of Taihape, and her 2010 teams champion partner Keryn Herbert, of Te Kuiti.

Baty, whose sole open-class win was at the Hawke's Bay Show's Great Raihania Shears last year, told how the "self-doubt" in Hastings turned to giving it a go because it was the last chance and flying to Christchurch in disbelief, her fare paid by employers Ian and Lilybeth Kirkpatrick.

Fairlie farmer Tony Dobbs has already been guaranteed a place at the championships as one of two blade shearers.

The championships will be held in the ILT Stadium Southland on February 8-11. A record 32 countries have entered.

Shearers and woolhandlers have the chance to be part of the championships, with entries open for the Southland All Nations and Speed Shear events.

The All Nations has been added to the programme to allow those not competing at the championships to be part of the historic event, as well as allow competitors to put the final touches to their championships preparation.

"We have had such great support from the shearing fraternity so our organising committee wanted to make sure there was a chance for as many people as possible to be part of these championships," chairman Tom Wilson said.

Entries were being taken for intermediate, senior and open machine shearing, open blade shearing and senior and open woolhandling.