Wairoa teen top novice at Masterton

Ashlin Swann, 15, winning the novice shearing final on the opening day of the 2024 Golden Shears in Masterton. Picture by Peter Nikolaison

by Doug Laing

Wairoa College student Ashlin Swann claimed bragging rights for the growing number of female shearers competing at the Golden Shears by winning the novice final in Masterton on Thursday.

It was a family affair for the 15-year-old, who was in Masterton with her twin sister, fellow novice shearer Shawna, her brother, 2020 novice winner Ryka, and her father, wool-presser and open-class shearer Paul Swann.

Her mum Sonya was at home running the Ardkeen farm.

Having been fourth of the 61 in the heats and third qualifier from the semi-finals, Ashlin was slowest in the final, shearing the two sheep in 7m 27.019s.

She was two minutes slower than the first to finish and uncharacteristically, was also only fourth-best in judging on the shearing board.

However, Ashlin slayed the opposition with a near-sheen-clean result with the finished product — incurring just three penalties in judging in the pens.

She won the novice final by more than five points overall from eventual runner-up Karl Schoff, of Chinchilla, Queensland.

Ashlin first sheared a full sheep in the Hawke’s Bay Show schools competition in October 2022, and has become a regular in recent competitions.

She has won at Taihape, Marton, Aria and Te Puke since late January.

She goes up to “junior” class at her next competition, probably the New Zealand Shears in Te Kuiti next month.

Despite her increasing experience, she said she was nervous when she got on to the Masterton War Memorial Stadium stage.

“I was shaking as soon as I got up there. I was very scared.”

Ashlin takes every chance to shear when her dad needs sheep shorn on the farm, and he’s  happy to let her go to it while he “gets on the broom”.

She also grabs every chance to compete, as long as her dad is taking her.