World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships: New Zealand resident Robin Krause off to a good start

Robin Krause in action in the Royal Highland Show junior shearing final, a support event on the first day of the 2023 Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Scotland. Photo / SSNZ

Robin Krause is off to a good start at the Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in Edinburgh today.

The South Island-based German shearer started the four-day event with a placing in the finals at the Royal Highland Show Junior Championship.

One of 11 women in a 39-strong, mainly UK field, it was Krause’s first international competition, and she finished fifth in a six-shearer final of four sheep each.

Despite her lack of familiarity with the three sheep breeds used during the event, the 26-year-old shore consistently throughout the three stages, being sixth of the 12 qualifiers for the semi-finals, and fifth qualifier for the deciding shear.

The Junior Championship is one of the supporting events for all-comers before the World Championship competition starts early tomorrow (New Zealand time).

It was won by Steven Wilson, of Ballyclare, Northern Ireland - who came fourth in the heats and second in the semi-finals.

Krause recently obtained New Zealand residency after living here for six years.

She was woolhandlng in Australia when she decided to come to New Zealand to work, where she learned to shear.

Krause is now working for Pleasant Point shearing contractor Ant Frew, who will shear in the Royal Highland Open heats on day two.

During the New Zealand summer Krause shore in seven junior finals in the South Island, including three national title events.

She came fourth at the Waimate Spring Shears and the New Zealand Corriedale Championships in Christchurch, and second at the Mackenzie A and P Show’s national lamb shearing championship in Fairlie.

She had previously won three novice finals in New Zealand.

Krause said she’d had a good experience in the junior champs, and even though the breeds were unexpected it was “not too bad”.

“I always seem to do better in the heats, never good in the final,” she reckoned.

In other World Championships supporting events, Masterton shearer Adam Gordon backed up his form as the No 1-ranked senior in the New Zealand season.

He was the top qualifier for the semi-finals of the Royal Highland Show Senior Championships, from a field of 87 who shore in the heats.

His success was part of a double act for the Gordon family.

Gordon’s sister, Cushla Abraham, qualified for the Royal Highland Show intermediate shearing semi-finals, from a field of 61.

Abraham is a New Zealand transtasman series woolhandling team member, and a former Golden Shears novice shearing champion.

Unfortunately, the siblings missed out on places in the finals.

Wools of New Zealand Shearing Sports New Zealand team members will complete New Zealand’s showing in the Royal Highland Show titles events overnight from Friday to Saturday.

The day two programme ends Thursday at 7:00 pm in Scotland (Friday 6:30 am NZ time) with round one of the machine shearing heats.

The six World Individual and Teams titles, in machine shearing, blade shearing, and woolhandling, will be decided early-morning Monday New Zealand time.