Oberon Quickshear: Taumarunui’s Floyde Neil wins A$20,000 for 20.65 seconds’ shearing

Floyde Neil, from Taumarunui, has won the Oberon Quickshear. Photo / Oberon Quick Shears

Australia-based Taumarunui shearer and shearing contractor Floyde Neil has won the world’s richest speed shear prize, taking home A$20,000 (NZ$21,220) for a single sheep and 20.65 seconds of work.

Neil had been shearing in New Zealand but flew back to New South Wales in Australia to take part in the six-man final of the Oberon Quickshear - which featured five New Zealanders - and was shorn on Australian crossbreds on Saturday at Oberon, 180km west of Sydney.

Neil runs the shearing contracting firm Shear Pride from Boyup Brook, West Australia.

He is no stranger to shearing sports in Australia either, having shorn world record tallies on both Merino lambs and Merino ewes there in the last 14 months.

After Neil was runner-up, Australia-based Tipene Te Whata, from Northland, while third place went to Southland veteran Darin Forde.

Stacey Te Huia, a North Island shearer now based in Southland and Otago, came fourth and fifth was claimed by the only Australian finalist Warwick McMaster.

Masterton shearer Paerata Abraham came sixth.

Defending champion Jimmy Samuels, of Marton, who shore 20.78sec to win last year’s final, was eliminated in the heats.

World eight-hour strong wool lamb shearing record-holder, and prolific speed shear winner, Jack Fagan, of Te Kuiti was eliminated in the semifinals, along with Australia-based Jovan Taiki, originally from Porangahau, who won the $A10,000 first prize in 2022.

Floyde Neil, from Taumarunui, won the Oberon Quickshear in NSW, with an A$20,000 prize for the 20.65sec it took to shear a single sheep in the final. Photo / Oberon Quick Shears

Neil was heading back to New Zealand for more events, including the Golden Shears in Masterton on February 29-March 2, and the New Zealand Shears on Te Kuiti on April 4-6, both of which include speed shear events.

Read more shearing and woolhandling stories here.

There is also a series of speed shears around the Southern Shears Shearing and Woolhandling Championships which will be held in Gore on Friday and Saturday, including the Southern Field Days Speed Shear at Waimumu on Friday.