Close calls in Duvauchelle shearing finals

The lineup after the Peninsula Duvauchelle open shearing final, sponsor representative Struan Hulme, of Woolworks Canterbury Woolscourers (left), shearers Lyall Windleburn (6th), Willy McSkimming (4th), Jordan Boyes (3rd), Hugh De Lacy (2nd) and winner Ant Frew with his daughter (and greatest supporter) Ivy. Photo / Supplied

South Canterbury open–class shearer Ant Frew had a narrow win over North Canterbury gun Hugh De Lacy at the Peninsula Duvauchelle Shears on Saturday.

Taking a crew to the competition at the Duvauchelle A and P Show, shearing contractor Frew pipped De Lacy for both the fastest time and the winning points, in a four-man final over 11 sheep each.

Both finished in under 11 minutes, Frew, a former Golden Shears semi-finalist, beating the PGG Wrightson Vetmed national circuit third place getter by 0.42pts.

It was Frew’s second win of the 2022-2023 shearing sports season, as he also beat De Lacy in a final at Rangiora in October by just 0.79pts - a week after De Lacy had won at Ellesmere.

The two are among 10 shearers who have won open shearing finals throughout the country so far this season.

Reuben King, of Rangiora, made it three Duvauchelle winners’ ribbons in a row, when he took out the senior final over 10 sheep each, having won the junior final in 2021 and the intermediate title last year.

Again it was a close call, with only 1.35pts separating the four finalists.

Just three entered the intermediate grade, which was won by Sam Morphet, from England.

Meanwhile, women dominated the junior final, with first, second and third place going to female shearers - Lydia Thomson, of Rangiora, had her fifth win in seven junior finals this summer.

The Shears attracted 28 competitors, including 12 in the open class.

The “Frew crew” from Ewe Need Us Shearing, of Pleasant Point, picked up two other final ribbons, with Cody Davidson fourth in the senior final and Robin Krause third in the junior final.

Frew said the small event was a “great show”, with “good sheep, and well organised”.

A busy weekend for shearing sports

The only competition throughout the country during the weekend, the Duvauchelle Shears leads into the busiest weekend of the season, with six competitions from Friday to Sunday, spanning the 1870kms from Kaikohe in Northland to Winton in the south.

It starts with the Northern Southland Community Shears and New Zealand Full Wool Shearing and Woolhandling Championships in a woolshed off the Five Rivers-Lumsden highway on Friday.

There will be four competitions on Saturday, with shearing-only at the Kaikohe, Wairoa and Golden Bay shows and the Southland Shears National Crossbred Lamb Shearing and Woolhandling Championships at the Winton A and P Show.

The weekend events will be completed by the Horowhenua show shears in Levin on Sunday.

Results from the Peninsula Duvauchelle Shears at the Duvauchelle A and P Show on Saturday, January 14, 2023:

Open final (11 sheep): Ant Frew (Pleasant Point) 10min 43.28sec, 37.25pts, 1; Hugh De Lacy (Rangiora) 10min 46.15sec, 37.67pts, 2; Jordan Boyes (Owaka) 12min 15.87sec, 42.52pts, 3; Willie McSkimming (Oamaru) 11min 52.72sec, 42.55pts, 4.

Senior final (10 sheep): Reuben King (Rangiora) 10min 30sec, 38.5pts, 1; Blake Crooks (Timaru) 9min 49.66sec, 39.23pts, 2; James Wilson 9min 55.85sec, 39.29pts, 3; Cody Davidson (Hakatere) 10min 25.28sec, 39.85pts, 4.

Intermediate final (5 sheep): Sam Morphet (Yorkshire, England) 6min 33.6sec, 23.68pts, 1; Ash Wadsworth (Little River) 6min 44.5sec, 37.21pts, 2; Robert Capstick (Yorkshire, England) 6min 38.18sec, 46.31pts, 3.

Junior final (3 sheep): Lydia Thomson (Rangiora) 6min 6sec, 22.3pts, 1; Emma Martin (Gore) 6min 11.13sec, 24.22pts, 2; Robin Krause (Germany) 6min 49.46sec, 27.47pts, 3; Angus Crombie (Blenheim) 6min .12sec, 38.44pts, 4.