Stakes high for NZ's top shearers

Winning the Golden Shears will mean David Fagan can try for his sixth world title. Picture / Wairarapa Times-Age

More than just pride will be at stake when legendary shearers David Fagan, 43, and John Kirkpatrick, 32, face off over the next few days in one of the world's greatest shearing arenas.

Along with other top shearers from across the country, the pair will contest the title of Golden Shears open champion.

They will also have Saturday night's final of the Wrightson national shearing competition set firmly within their sights.

For Fagan, in particular, the stakes are high.

The winner of the national shearing competition will secure a coveted place in the New Zealand team at the world shearing championships at Toowoomba, Australia in June.

Should Fagan win at the Shears, he will be able to defend the world championship shearing title he won - for the fifth time - in 2003.

Undisputed King of the Shears in recent years, crowd-pleaser Fagan has dominated the Masterton competition since 1989, winning a breathtaking 15 open titles.

The only interruption to his reign came in 2002 when Dannevirke-based Kirkpatrick pulled off an upset victory.

This season, Fagan was a late starter in the 21st year of his open class career, not winning until early January with a treble of the Western Shears open at Raglan and the Northern Southland Open and New Zealand crossbred lamb titles at Lumsden.

So far this year, he has tallied seven wins - but has taken a back seat in several "majors". Kirkpatrick is now ranked No 1 by Shearing Sport NZ.

Kirkpatrick is the only man to win titles in three of the Golden Shears shearing championship classes (including the intermediate in 1993 and the senior in 1994).

Paul Avery, of Stratford, aged 38 and an 11-times Golden Shears open finalist, was second to Fagan at Taumarunui, and won in Fagan's absence the next day at Apiti. He then beat both Fagan and Kirkpatrick comfortably at the Pahiatua Shears final on Sunday, his 11th win of the season.

Of the others, only 1993 junior champion Justin Meikle, of Oamaru, is seriously considered in shearing circles to be a prospect for the final. But Darin Forde, of Winton, Dion King, of Napier, Dean Ball, of Te Kuiti, and Nathan Stratford, of Invercargill are expected to be hot contenders as they were last year.

- NZPA