Amuri Shears go ahead under Level 2 restrictions

New Zealand shearing representative Troy Pyper with partner Ripeka Ferris after Pyper's win at the Amuri Shears in North Canterbury on Saturday. Photo / Elite Wool Industry Training

Wet sheep proved an unlikely ally for New Zealand representative Troy Pyper, when he won the open final at the Amuri Shears on Saturday, as North Canterbury started its bounce-back from the Covid-19 Level 2 close-out.

Organisers made the decision to push ahead with the shears amid the Level 2 restrictions, despite the cancellation of the Amuri A and P Show, of which they were to have been a feature.

Hailing from Invercargill but now settled in Cheviot, Pyper thought work in the woolshed would keep him away from the shears at the Rotherham Showgrounds.

But when wet sheep resulted in an early end to the day's work, he took the chance to support the competition, which would have clashed directly with the Golden Shears in Masterton.

The cancellation of this year's Golden Shears, scheduled to run from Thursday through to Saturday, left Amuri as the weekend's only shearing competition in either the North or South Islands.

So it was a case of '"build it and they shall come" with the event attracting 27 shearers across the four grades - about double the number at last year's event.

It seemed somehow fitting, with the Amuri district historically credited as having New Zealand's first "modern-style" shearing shed, built at St Leonards more than 160 years ago.

One of 10 in the Open class, and the winner of more than 30 Open finals in New Zealand and Australia - including the resurrected New Zealand Winter Comb Title in Waimate in October, Pyper proved unbeatable in the three-man final of 12 large lambs each.

He was first off in 10min 40.66sec, the only shear of the day under a minute-a-sheep, also taking comfortably the best board and pen quality points, as he beat fellow finalists Lyall Windleburn of Rangiora and Lionel Taumata of Gore, each by more than a sheep, and more than 9pts in the final count.

Rangiora shearer James Noah had a rare but comfortable win in the Senior class, which had seven entries.

Alice Watson, of Blenheim, had a good Intermediate final win over Ashburton's Chase Rattray and Rangiora's Ben Forrester, as she had done on the Reefton Shears' lambs four week earlier, getting one back on the pair following Forrester's win at Kaikoura on February 27.

Taihape shearer Josh Devane ventured south for a Junior win after a run of placings in the Central North Island.

On his first visit to the Amuri Shears, Pyper's fifth win of the season was a good lead into the Cheviot A and P Show shearing and woolhandling championships next Saturday, one of the few shows to have an increase in prize money this season.

It will be one of three shearing sports events in a weekend again mainly focused in the South Island, with the Mayfield A and P Show shears also on Saturday, the Anglers Arms Speed Shear in Sefton on Saturday night, and the Kowai Sefton Sports Shears on Sunday.

With the postponement of the Kumeu Show, the only event in the North Island will be the sixth New Zealand Speed Shear Championship, featuring 10 invited shearers at the New Zealand Rural Games in Palmerston North on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Amuri A and P Society was able to complete the weekend on Sunday with a successful community fair, which had been confirmed only two days earlier, after Friday's announcement by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of an easing of alert-level limits from 6am Sunday.

Results from the Amuri Shears at Rotherham on Saturday, March 6, 2021:

Open final (12 lambs): Troy Pyper (Cheviot) 10min 40.66sec, 37.37pts, 1; Lyall Windleburn (Rangiora) 12min 7.85sec, 46.48pts, 2; Lionel Taumata (Gore) 12min 19.9sec, 47.08pts, 3.

Senior final (8 sheep): James Noah (Rangiora) 9min 30.19sec, 34.51pts, 1; Josef Winders (Rotorua) 10min 10.13sec, 38.01pts, 2; Isaac Duckmanton (Christchurch) 9min 28.19sec, 38.28pts, 3.

Intermediate final (6 sheep): Alice Watson (Blenheim) 8min 43.41sec, 35.34pts, 1; Chase Rattray (Ashburton) 8min 58.3sec, 35.92pts, 2; Ben Forrester (Rangiora) 8min 29.53sec, 37.31pts, 3.

Junior final (3 sheep): Josh Devane (Taihape) 6min 5.94sec, 23.96pts, 1; Timo Hicks (Tapawera) 7min 20.69sec, 26.7pts, 2; Lachie Crafar (Kimbolton) 7min 55.21sec, 51.76pts, 3.