Dad beats son for national fencing title

With 17 wins between them in the past 32 years, Hawke's Bay's champion fencer (pictured at Fieldays) Shane Bouskill (left) after his third Golden Pliers win in four years, and Paul Van Beers, fourth in his last dig, having won 14 times from 1990 to 2012. Photo / Brent McGlashen Photography

Farm fencing national championships bragging rights are back in Hawke's Bay after world champion Shane Bouskill and son Tony finished first and second in the Golden Pliers final at National Fieldays.

The unique family quinella came at Mystery Creek, where the annual Fieldays was held on June 15-18 and gave 46-year-old Smedley instructor Shane Bouskill the title for a third time in four years.

Defending champion Tim Stafford, of Marton, was third and 14-times winner Paul Van Beers was fourth.

Shane Bouskill, who first won the title at the Hawke's Bay Show in 2013 and who followed last year's second-placing with a world championships win in Germany less than a fortnight later, took some convincing that he'd beaten 26-year-old son and Tutira fencer Tony in this year's final.

"It was close, he was only 1.6 points behind and he had had half-an-hour on me," he said, recalling the contest in which each of eight finalists had to erect a 50-metre fence with nine wires, two strainers, 15 posts, five-footers, 40 battens and a steel gate.

Tony Bouskill, in the final for a fourth time in six years and going one better than when he was third last year, took about 5hrs 35mins and his father 6hrs 10min.

They were separated by some distance across the arena, but they knew who to watch out for. "I was on line 8, and Tony was on line 2," he said. "But I still knew where he was."

As the prizegiving started, they introduced the winners by saying first and second were both in the same family, and Shane Bouskill started to congratulate his son. "But," he said, this week, "I won it on quality."

The Bouskills finished third in the Silver Spades teams event, Kapiti Coast pair Jeff Joines and Mark Lambert retaining the title and Stafford finishing runner-up with teammate Matt Jones.

Jack Richardson, a Bouskill prodigy during two years as a Smedley cadet and now working for Jason Van Beers Fencing was runner-up in the Bill Schuler Novice event won by Brody Channings, of Marton.