Part of the Masterton War Memorial Stadium crowd that saw New Zealand complete a haul of five first placings from six world championship events. Photo / Golden Shears
Black singlets, black T-shirts, and red ribbons mixed like streamers on election night as New Zealand claimed an unprecedented five wins in six events at the Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships, which ended in Masterton on Saturday night.
Following a cleansweep of the team’s machine shearing, blade shearing and woolhandling titles on Friday, Joel Henare, from Gisborne, completed a third teams and individual titles double, and Rowland Smith, of Maraekakaho, claimed a second individual machine shearing title.
The only event not won by the Kiwis, recoiling from a failure to win any of the events in Scotland in 2023, was South African Bonile Rabela’s successful defence of the blade shearing title.
In the other two major events on the last night, Northland shearer Toa Henderson successfully defended the Golden Shears open shearing title, and Motueka-based Joel Henare, from Gisborne, won a 12th Golden Shears open woolhandling title, in an unbeaten sequence that started in 2013, spanning the two Golden Shears that were cancelled in the Covid era.
Henderson essentially blew the 20-sheep world machine shearing final apart.
He trailed veteran New Zealand-based Scotland international and 2012 winner Gavin Mutch mid-race, taking control on the long wool stretch, and pulled away on the second-shear sheep to clock 16m 40.349s.
He beat Mutch about a sheep, with 2014 winner Smith sneaking through to be second-man off, in 17m 15.67s.
However, Smith had the better quality and beat Henderson by 2.683 points, with Mutch taking third place, ahead of Welsh shearers Llyr Jones and defending champion Gwion Evans, and Denis O’Sullivan, from the Republic of Ireland.
In the Golden Shears open final, Mutch again took the lead to hold on to finish the 20 sheep first in just under 16 minutes, beating Henderson by 14 seconds, but Henderson had the better quality and claimed victory by about half a point.
New Zealand blade shearers Allan Oldfield and Tony Dobbs won the team title on Friday.
However, the South African pair Rabela and Teboho Nyatsa got their revenge by finishing first and second, respectively.
In the woolhanding individual final, it was a New Zealand resident first three, with Henare’s win, Cook Island representative Keryn Herbert the runner-up and Charis Morrell placed third, representing Switzerland.
Second New Zealand representative woolhandler Marika Braddick, of Eketāhuna, was fifth.
Earlier in the day, Te Kūiti’s Jack Fagan won the National Shearing Circuit final, after dominating the five preliminary rounds, which ended with him heading 12 qualifying for the semi-final earlier on Saturday.
Three former winners were eliminated in the semi-final, but the major threat and three-time winner Nathan Stratford remained and led the chase.
Fagan finished in 17m 15.213s, a time advantage of almost four points, which Stratford pegged back to some degree with the better quality, but Fagan still won by 1.378 points, to secure a place in the 2026-2027 New Zealand transtasman shearing and woolhandling series team.
It was clearly a dream for Fagan to win the title, father Sir David Fagan having won the title from 1986 to 2008.
Jack Fagan shore in the 2024-2025 series, after finishing third in the circuit final.
In other Golden Shears shearing title finals, senior honours went to Taylor Tarrant, of Taumarunui; the new intermediate champion is Joseph Scahill, of Ireland; Sreffan George, of Wales, won the junior title, and Sam Lawson, of Ongaonga, won the novice title.
Lucy Elers, of Mataura, retained the senior woolhandling title, the junior woolhandling winner was Leah Tamainu, of Nūhaka, and Isabelle Joiner, of Canada, won the novice title.
The North Island Woolhandling Circuit final was won by Ngaio Henson, of Eketāhuna, retaining her place in the transtasman series team.
Jeremy Goodger, of Masterton, won the Golden Shears Men’s woolpressing title for a 14th time, and the women’s title was won for the first time by Mollie Moffett, of Ferrnhill, Hawke’s Bay.
The next World Championships will be held in Geelong, Victoria, in 2029, and are expected to be in the first week of November.
The championships have previously been held in Australia in Perth, Western Australia, in 1986, and Toowoomba, Queensland, in 2005.
Masterton, March 4-7, 2026
Machine Shearing
Individual final (20 sheep – 4 perendale, 6 crossbred long wool, 10 second-shear): Rowland Smith (New Zealand) 17m 15.670s, 60.784pts, 1; Toa Henderson (New Zealand) 16m 40.349s, 63.467pts, 2; Gavin Mutch (Scotland) 17m 23.219s, 64.011pts, 3; Llyr Jones (Wales) 17m 53.349s, 69.017pts, 4; Gwion Evans (Wales) 18m 30.268s, 69.313pts, 5; Denis O’Sullivan (Ireland) 18m 54.244s, 71.662pts, 6.
Teams final (16 sheep - 8 crossbred long wool, 8 second-shear): New Zealand (Rowland Smith, Toa Henderson) 16m 12.451s, 57.74pts, 1; England (Matt Smith, Nicholas Greaves) 15m 28.93s, 58.017pts, 2; Scotland (Hamish Mitchell, Gavin Mutch) 15m 59.36s, 58.538pts, 3; Wales (Gwion Evans, Llyr Jones) 16m 17.414s, 59.121pts, 4; Australia (Daniel McIntyre, Sam Bacon) 17m 51.644s, 63.582pts, 5; Falkland Islands Adam Dickson, Evan Jones) 18m 23.192s, 66.28pts, 6.
Teams B final (10 sheep - 5 crossbred long wool, 5 second-shear): Cook Island (Noel Gardiner, Max Winders) 12m 24.859s, 48.743pts, 1; France (Jeremy Leygonie, Felix Cesbron) 13m 29.991s, 49.6pts, 2; Republic Of Ireland (Denis O’Sullivan, Patrick Corrigan) 13m 33.006s, 52.45pts, 3; USA (Paul Astin, Alex Moser) 12m 26.845s, 53.242pts, 4; Mongolia (Bassandorj Erdenetogt, Serbudee Lkhgvasturen) 14m 45.352pts, 54.268pts, 5; Northern Ireland Graeme Davidson, Alex Butler) 13m 48.271pts, 54.714pts, 6.
Woolhandling
Individual final (8 fleeces - 2 perendale, 2 crossbred long wool, 4 second-shear): Joel Henare (New Zealand) 105.780pts, 1; Keryn Herbert (Cook Islands) 122.680pts, 2; Charis Morrell (Switzerland) 138.362pts, 3; Racheal Hutchinson (Australia) 151.161pts, 4; Marika Braddick (New Zealand) 177.484pts, 5; Rosie Keenan (Scotland) 226.665pts, 6.
Teams final (10 fleeces – 6 crossbred long wool, 4 second-shear): New Zealand (Joel Henare, Marika Braddick) 110.965pts, 1; Cook Islands (Keryn Herbert, Tina Elers) 163.022pts, 2; Australia (Racheal Hutchinson, Alexander Schoff) 171.858pts, 3; Switzerland (Gabriela Schmidt-Morrell, Charis Morrell) 173.664pts, 4; Falkland Islands (Talia Jones, Pilar Castro) 175.1pts, 5; England (Hilary Bond-Harding, Jess Parkhouse) 223.723pts, 6.
Blade shearing:
Individual final (6 sheep – 3 perendale, 3 crossred long wool): Bonile Rabela (South Africa) 14m 26.441s, 56.322pts, 1; Teboho Nyatsa (South Africa) 15m 45.612s, 56.781pts, 2; Allan Oldfield (New Zealand) 14m 39.239s, 61.462pts, 3; Tony Dobbs (New Zealand) 17m 20.313s, 65.016pts, 4; Johnathon Dalla (Australia) 16m 56.497s, 68.995pts, 5; Andrew Mudge (England) 19m 06.945s, 77.517pts, 6.
Teams final (6 sheep – 3 perendale ewes, 3 crossbred long wool): New Zealand (Allan Oldfield, Tony Dobbs) 16m 46.515s, 63.496pts, 1; South Africa (Bonile Rabela, Teboho Nyatsa) 16m 51.275s, 64.724pts, 2; Australia (Johnathon Dalla, Daniel Rogers) 19m 40.136s, 76.177pts, 3; England (Andrew Mudge, George Mudge) 22m 15.006s, 83.75pts, 4; Wales (Elfed Jackson, Rhydian Evans) 20m 20.777s, 84.039pts, 5; Republic Of Ireland (James Hopkins, Martin Hopkins) 24m 2.857s, 89.973pts, 6.
Shearing
National Circuit Shearing Final (15 sheep – 3 merino, 3 corriedale, 3 crossbred long wool, 3 second-shear, 3 lambs): Jack Fagan (Te Kūiti) 17m 15.213s, 65.631pts, 1; Nathan Stratford (Invercargill) 18m 29.571s, 67.009pts, 2; Hugh De Lacy (Rangiora) 18m 38.815s, 68.341pts, 3; Justin Meikle (Ōamaru) 18m 51.353s, 72.098pts, 4; Brook Hamerton (Hastings) 21m 01.431s, 75.132pts, 5; Lionel Taumata (Gore) 20m 50.185s, 76.439pts, 6.
Open final (20 sheep): Toa Henderson (Kaiwaka) 16m 13.228s, 56.111pts, 1; Gavin Mutch (Dannevirke) 15m 59.996s, 56.650pts, 2; Leon Samuels (Invercargill) 16m 18.999s, 57.300pts, 3; Hemi Braddick (Eketāhuna) 16m 47.383s, 57.619pts, 4; Rowland Smith (Hastings) 17m 46.701s, 57.885pts, 5; Corey Palmer (Dipton) 17m 41.009s, 61.700pts, 6.
Senior final (12 sheep): Taelor Tarrant (Taumarunui) 12m 25.546s, 49.027pts, 1; Dre Roberts (Mataura) 13m 01.429s, 49.231pts, 2; Kaivah Cooper (Napier) 13m 38.292s, 52.755pts, 3; Frazer Caldwell (Omagh) 13m 28.019s, 52.991pts, 4; Daniel Copley (England) 14m 00.809s, 53.120pts, 5; Callum Bosley (Cornwall) 13m 22.493s, 53.705pts, 6.
Intermediate final (8 sheep): Joseph Scahill (Mayo, Ireland) 10m 35.740s, 42.537pts, 1; Tamati Dennison (Kurow) 10m 51.350s, 42.938pts, 2; Mitchell Yates (Kimba, South Australia) 11m 04.900s, 43.365pts, 3; Tye Meikle (Ōamaru) 10m 37.570s, 43.878pts, 4; Zakaia Lewis (Gisborne) 11m 00.710s, 44.656pts, 5; Michael Buick (Pongaroa) 11m 16.330s, 46.566pts, 6.
Junior final (5 sheep): Steffan George (Aberystwyth, Wales) 8m 43.333s, 33.367pts, 1; Sean Dunne (Wicklow, Ireland) 8m 38.211s, 33.511pts, 2; Ashlin Swann (Wairoa) 9m 26.154s, 34.908pts, 3; Mac Foreman (Pahīatua) 9m 14.877s, 34.944pts, 4; Phoebe Monk (Masterton) 8m 53.851s, 35.293pts, 5; Trent Alabaster (Taihape) 8m 27.713s, 35.586pts, 6.
Novice final (2 sheep): Samuel Lawson (Napier Boys High School) 4m 39.858s, 25.993pts, 1; Ngahuia Salmond (Te Kūiti) 4m 45.685s, 30.784pts, 2; Maia Buick (Masterton) 7m 51.067s, 31.053pts, 3; Lexi Young (Gisborne) 6m 46.494s, 31.825pts, 4; Tsenden-Ish Jargalsaikhan (Sukhbaatar, Mongolia) 6m 22.106s, 35.105pts, 5; Riley Priest (Upper Hutt) 6m 55.230s, 41.762pts, 6.
Womens Invitation Shearing Final (6 sheep): Laura Bradley (Woodville) 8m 03.351s, 32.668pts, 1; Pagan Rimene (Alexandra) 9m 07.208s, 34.700pts, 2; Emma Martin (Gore) 8m 47.807s, 35.220pts, 3; Kate Donald (Stirling) 8m 46.318s, 37.316pts, 4; Nicki Guttler (Lockhart) 9m 26.355s, 39.318pts, 5; Una Cameron (St Boswells) 8m 31.728s, 42.416pts, 6.
Golden Shears MKM Originals Student Challenge (two sheep): Napier Boys’ High School No 1 Sam Lawson/Sam Whiteside) 23.93pts, 1; Lindisfarne College No 2 (Cooper Ellingham/Lachie Butler) 31.29pts, 2; Pukemiro (Oliver Selby/Riley Priest) 32.16pts, 3.
Open Speed Shear (1 sheep): Jack Fagan (Te Kūiti) 19.345s, 16.676pts, 1; Forde Alexander (Taumarunui) 20.611s, 2; Llyr Evans (Napier) 3; Paerata Abraham (Masterton) 4.
Senior Speed Shear (1 sheep): Cheyden Winiana (Nūhaka) 22.094s, 1; Randall Aranui (Martinborough) 24.365s, 2; Ryka Swann (Wairoa) 3; Dre Roberts (Mataura) 4.
Open Blade Shearing Final (5 sheep): Teboho Nyatsa (Rouxvill, South Africa) 12m 20.929s, 48.046pts, 1; Allan Oldfield (Geraldine) 12m 25.867s, 51.693pts, 2; Bonile Rabela (Sterkspruit, South Africa) 13m 10.256s, 52.513pts, 3; Tony Dobbs (Fairlie) 14m 32.382s, 55.619pts, 4; Andrew Mudge (Tavistock, England) 16m 09.883s, 61.294pts, 5; Mike McConnell (Timaru) 16m 30.071s, 67.904pts, 6.
Woolhandling
Open final (10 fleeces): Joel Henare (Gisborne) 122.893pts, 1; Logan Kamura (Marton) 133.447pts, 2; Pagan Rimene (Alexandra) 136.860pts, 3; Keryn Herbert (Te Kūiti) 140.999pts, 4.
Senior final (5 fleeces): Lucy Elers (Mataura) 132.419pts, 1; Tre Ratana- Sciascia (Taihape) 134.806pts, 2; Amy Bell (Dannevirke) 154.321pts, 3; Shyla Gordon (Masterton) 169.534pts, 4.
Junior final (4 fleeces): Leah Tamainu (Hastings) 107.363pts, 1; Waiari Puna (Napier) 117.670pts, 2; Opal Ramsay (Pongaroa) 138.670pts, 3; Caitlin Murphy (Pongaroa) 157.122pts, 4.
Novice final (2 fleeces): Isabelle Joiner (Calgary, Canada) 80.118pts, 1; Arcadia Jope (Eketāhuna) 85.951pts, 2; Katie Hauiti (Dannevirke) 88.461pts, 3; Roseen Crellin-Christian (Isle of Man) 121.844pts, 4.
North Island Woolhandling Open Circuit (6 fleeces): Ngaio Hanson (Eketāhuna) 97.401pts, 1; Marika Braddick (Eketahuna) 102.004pts, 2; Keryn Herbert (Te Kūiti) 107.366pts, 3; Vinniye Phillips (Taumarunui) 132.759pts, 4.
Woolpressing
Golden Shears Men’s Singles final: Jeremy Goodger (Masterton) 46.05pts, 1; Ricci Stevens (Napier) 48.35pts, 2.
Golden Shears Women’s Singles final: Mollie Moffett (Hastings) 62.85pts, 1; Savanah King (Eketāhuna) 69.2pts, 2.
Golden Shears Pairs final: Jeremy Goodger and Conan Harmon (Masterton) 26.05pts, 1; Ricci and Angela Stevens (Napier) 37.5pts, 2.