New South Wales shearer and farmer Jamie Boothman, winner of the New Zealand Merino Shears open shearing final on Saturday in Alexandra, Central Otago. Photo / www.image-central.co.nz
New South Wales farmer-shearer Jamie Boothman has restored Aussie domination of the New Zealand Merino Shears open shearing title with a win in Saturday night’s final in Alexandra, Central Otago.
Boothman, 31, arrived from Australia on the day and was in charge for almost the entire way, as the top qualifier for the quarter-finals and then the semifinals but fourth going into the six-man final.
The title’s Australian dominance had been highlighted by West Australian Damien Boyle’s eight wins between 2010 and 2019 and New South Wales shearer Daniel McIntyre’s victory in 2022.
Boothman is from Crookwell, in the Southern Tablelands, about 240km southwest of Sydney.
He claimed the title by more than three points from the runner-up, Mataura shearer Brett Roberts, who, as the first Kiwi, secured his place in the New Zealand team.
It is Roberts’ first time in the Kiwi team.
Defending champion Chris Vickers, of Palmerston, North Otago was third.
Boothman sheared for Australia for the first time in a three-a-side transtasman win at the Golden Shears in Masterton in March.
He will face Roberts in the return match during the Australian National Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Jamestown, South Australia on October 24-26.
A surprise elimination in the open shearing semifinals was Invercargill shearer Nathan Stratford.
Stratford, who has won five times, placed seventh, missing out on the six-man final for only the third time since first competing in 2002.
Two-time world woolhandling champion Joel Henare, from Gisborne (but based in Motueka), started his 20th season in the open woolhandling class in style.
He won the Alexandra open woolhandling title for a fifth time, with defending champion Pagan Rimene of Alexandra the runner-up.
It was Henare’s 144th open win and lined him up for a 15th transtasman test in three weeks.
In the shearing, Vickers and Te Kūiti shearer James Fagan were the only survivors from last year’s final among the six finalists on Saturday, but of the four in the woolhandling final, Henare, Rimene, and Waihape had all reached the 2024 showdown.
The senior shearing final, over four sheep each, was won by 26-year-old Western Australia-based Tawhaarangi Taylor, from Ohakune, who plans to defend the national winter comb senior title at Waimate next weekend.
Dre Roberts, brother of Brett Roberts, was second, beaten by about five-and-a-half points.
The first winner of the new season was 19-year-old Zoe Meikle, of Ōamaru, claiming the novice woolhandling title on Friday.
Later, she made up a family team with father Justin Meikle (open shearing), brother Tye (senior shearing), and mum Renee (open woolhandling), competing for McSkimming Shearing in finishing ninth of 18 in the shearing and woolhandling teams event.
On Saturday, the junior woolhandling final provided a first win for 23-year-old Mady Little, from Balclutha but now living in Alexandra, and the senior final was won by 24-year-old Tia Manson, of Piopio, who had scraped into the final as the fourth qualifier.
The shears attracted 139 competitors, including a small number from Australia, Wales and South Africa.
It comprised 70 shearers (open 47, senior 23) and 69 woolhandlers (open 30, senior 11, junior 12, novice 16).
The event was the first of 57 shows on the Shearing Sports New Zealand calendar for the season.
They include the 20th Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Masterton on March 4-7 and end with the New Zealand Shears in Te Kūiti on April 9-11.
The next is the Waimate Spring Shears next Friday and Saturday, which has a transtasman blades shearing test and the fourth round of the New Zealand World Championships machine and blades shearing selection series.
The first event in the North Island is the Poverty Bay A&P Show’s Gisborne Shearing and Woolhandling Championships on October 17-18.
Friday-Saturday, October 3-4, 2025
Shearing
Open final (12 sheep): Jamie Boothman (Crookwell, NSW) 21m 6.36s, 82.735pts, 1; Brett Roberts (Mataura) 22m 21.52s, 85.743pts, 2; Chris Vickers (Palmerston) 21m 2.08s, 87.604pts, 3; James Fagan (Te Kūiti) 20m 41.16s, 91.058pts, 4; Paerata Abraham (Masterton) 20m 28.13s, 92.074pts, 5; Erick Klabe (Guyra, NSW) 23m 34.73s, 93.82pts, 6.
Senior final (four sheep): Tawhaarangi Taylor (Ohakune) 13m 26.58s, 61.579pts, 1; Dre Roberts (Mataura) 11m 37.09s, 67.105pts, 2; Taelor Tarrant (Taumarunui) 10m 29.19s, 68.96pts, 3; Jadas Guelfi (Gisborne) 10m 17.03s, 72.352pts, 4; Emma Martin (Gore) 14m 53.73s, 72.437pts, 5; Michael Garniss (Australia) 12m 30.34s, 74.767pts, 6.
Woolhandling
Open final (five fleeces): Joel Henare (Gisborne/Motueka) 191.612pts, 1; Pagan Rimene (Alexandra) 247.2pts, 2; Foonie Waihape (Alexandra) 263.762pts, 3; Jasmin Tipoki (Napier) 292.664pts, 4.
Senior final (three fleeces): Tia Manson (Piopio) 192.732pts, 1; Chiquita Tamepo (Hastings) 209.94pts, 2; Ashley Clarke (Gore) 254.1pts, 3; Misty-Rose Kokiri Elers (Mataura) 273.862pts, 4.
Junior final (three fleeces): Mady Little (Balclutha) 182.874pts, 1; Jayda Millanta (Tauranga) 188.442pts, 2; Maia Rauhina (Whanganui) 189.062pts, 3; Grace Croasdale (Masterton) 216.706pts, 4.
Novice: Zoe Meikle (Ōamaru) 88.056pts, 1; Priah Ratana Sciascia (Feilding) 97.07pts, 2; Angel Spooner (Ashburton) 103.6pts, 3; Jayda White (-) 133.5pts, 4.
Shearing and Woolhandling teams (five fleeces): Korua Ma (Ringakaha Paewae, Troy Christy, Pagan Timene, Foonie Waihape) 3333.929pts, 1; You’re Kidding (Paraki Puna, Tawhaarangi Taylor, Maia Rauhina, Jasmin Tipoki) 342.51pts, 2; Shedtalk (Paerata Abraham, David Gordon, Cushla Abraham, Amy Ferguson) 366.825pts, 3.