Marlborough shearer Angus Moore, who won the New Zealand Corriedale Championships open shearing title in Christchurch on Saturday, pictured winning his second national shearing circuit title at the Golden Shears in Masterton in March 2020. Photo / Pete Nikolaison
Marlborough shearer Angus Moore, who won the New Zealand Corriedale Championships open shearing title in Christchurch on Saturday, pictured winning his second national shearing circuit title at the Golden Shears in Masterton in March 2020. Photo / Pete Nikolaison
Marlborough shearer Angus Moore has picked his moments – even more than he thinks.
After winning the Canterbury Shears' New Zealand Corriedale open championship final in Christchurch on Friday, Moore was surprised to learn it was his 19th open win in the 15 seasons since he graduated, after winning the Golden Shears senior title and five other senior finals in the 2006-2007 season.
"Wow !" he said back at home base in Seddon.
"I didn't realise it was that many."
Raising a family and now running a growing shearing contracting business – including taking over the run of fellow open shearer Sarah Hewson at the start of September – the 36-year-old's mind has been on other things for a lot of his career.
When Moore does focus on it, the results come, as highlighted when he won the national shearing circuit in 2012 and 2020 – the first time being the only win of the season and without a single previous A-grade open win to his name.
He has represented New Zealand in two transtasman tests, in 2012 and 2013, and would have shorn two more, had it not been for the pandemic.
But while stacking up wins at smaller A and P show competitions such as Kaikohe, Cheviot, Ellesmere, Flaxbourne, Marlborough, Nelson and Murchison – most recently at Blenheim just six days before the Christchurch win, in a particular commitment to helping keep smaller competitions going - the two circuit wins and now the Canterbury title are his only wins at the open class's A-grade level.
He says he's been "pretty focused" on the circuit in the past, with its variety of wool types, including the Corriedales of Christchurch and the Merinos of Alexandra, along with the more commonly contest crossbred strong wool of Waimate (longwool), Marton (lambs) and Pahiatua (second-shear).
With staff in the contracting run now over 20 at peak – with what looks like a tourism-class line up of woolsheds from the Clarence River across to St Arnaud, up to Arapawa Island - he decided against contesting the circuit this year, but the form suggests a watch-this-space approach, with Moore being among the many deprived of Golden Shears opportunity when a Covid-19 lockdown caused the late cancellation of Masterton's big annual event last March.
New Zealand Corriedale Championships senior shearing winner, from Aria, Russell Ratima, pictured when he won the New Zealand Winter Comb title on Merinos last month. Photo / Barbara Newton
The ongoing pandemic crisis meant there were a few missing from Christchurch, where the open heats were the third leg of the circuit, now in its 50th year and known as the PGG Wrightson Vetmed National Shearing Circuit, but it was still as tough as it gets.
Just 14 of the 23 entered in the circuit this year made the trip but, in a field of 25 on the day, Moore qualified from the heats in 10th place and safely made it through the semi-finals to make the top six, including multiple Canterbury and circuits winners and New Zealand test-match representatives Tony Coster, of Rakaia, and Nathan Stratford, of Invercargill.
With Moore winning by just 0.87 points, Coster was runner-up, Manawatū shearer Aaron Haynes third, reigning circuit champion Leon Samuels, of Invercargill, fourth and Stratford fifth. Sixth place went to Willy McSkimming, now based in Oamaru.
It was one of the fastest 12-sheep final at Christchurch over the years, with Samuels first to finish, in 15min 20.5sec, with Moore next, followed by Haynes and Coster, all under 16 minutes.
Cheviot shearer Troy Pyper won the Canterbury All-Breeds Circuit final for a second time, and Chilean shearer Luis Pincol, a successful lower grades shearer in a New Zealand career now dating back more than six years, won the open plate.
The senior final was a triumph for Russell Ratima, from Aria in the King Country but at the age of 38 having done most of his shearing in Australia.
When he won the New Zealand Winter Comb senior final on merinos in Waimate last month it was just his fifth competition, and his first win in New Zealand, although he had a win in Queensland "about eight or nine years ago."
He'd said after his Alexandra win he "didn't have much confidence" to shear competitions, and in Australia, it was also "too far to travel to them."
In-form competitors Reuben King, of Rangiora, and Josh Devane, of Taihape, won the intermediate and junior finals respectively, and world champion blade shearer Allan Oldfield, from Geraldine but now living in Hutt Valley, had his first competition outing of the season, to successfully defend the Golden Blades title he won for the first time last year.
The five shearing classes on Friday attracted 59 entries. There were 34 entries in the three woolhandling classes on Thursday.
Hewson, who won the intermediate final in 2016, was sixth in Friday's open plate, and brother-in-law Josh Quinn and 2019 junior winner Alice Watson were fifth and sixth respectively in the senior final.
"A good day for Moore Sheep Shearing all-round," he said.
Results from the Canterbury Shears' New Zealand Corriedale shearing championships at Christchurch on Friday, November 12, 2021
Open final (12 sheep): Angus Moore (Seddon) 15min 30.28sec, 55.6pts, 1; Tony Coster (Rakaia) 15min 47.66sec, 56.47pts, 2; Aaron Haynes (Feilding) 15min 42.87sec, 56.81pts, 3; Leon Samuels (Invercargill) 15min 20.5sec, 59.11pts, 4; Nathan Stratford (Invercargill) 16min 1.41sec, 59.4spts, 5; Willy McSkimming (Oamaru) 15min 12.38sec, 63.7pts, 6.
Open Plate (8 sheep): Luis Pincol (Chile) 12min 41.91sec, 49.72pts, 1; David Gordon (Masterton) 12min 24.28sec, 50.96pts, 2; Duncan Leslie (Owaka) 12min 52.94sec, 51.02pts, 3; Lyall Windleburn (Rangiora) 12min 55.16sec, 53.01pts, 4; Toko Hapuku (Methven) 15min 2.35sec, 53.12pts, 5; Sarah Hewson (Blenheim) 13min 32.97sec, 57.27pts, 6.
Senior final (8 sheep): Russell Ratima (Pio Pio) 14min 14.66sec, 57.48pts, 1; Brayden Clifford (Waikaka) 14min 18.56sec, 57.68pts, 2; Taare Edwards (Ashburton) 3; 15min 56.81sec, 57.72pts, 3; Adam Gordon (Masterton) 15min 31.93sec, 58.72pts, 4; Josh Quinn (Seddon) 14min 58.81sec, 65.44pts, 5; Alice Watson (Blenheim) 17min 15.56sec, 65.65pts, 6.
