David Buick bags a repeat at National Lamb Shearing Championships

David Buick in action at last month's New Zealand Shears open final in Te Kuiti. Photo / SSNZ

Wairarapa shearer and 2018-2019 New Zealand representative David Buick completed the season in triumph when he successfully defended the national open lamb shearing title at the Mackenzie Shears in Fairlie yesterday.

It established him as the top competition lamb shearer in New Zealand, with three successive wins in the top lambs finals - at Fairlie last year, in the national crossbred lambs final at Winton in January, and yesterday when he won by more than two-and-a-half points from runner-up national side teammate Nathan Stratford, of Invercargill.

The only North Island shearer in the 10-man field, he was second to finish the six-man final of 20 lambs each, less than 4 seconds after Rakaia shearer Shaun Burgess, who finished in 18min 21.72sec with both more than a lamb ahead of anyone else in the race.

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Burgess did not have the quality on the day and had to settle for sixth place, third-to-finish Stratford made up some of the leeway with the best quality points, and third place overall went to Pleasant Point shearer Ant Frew, who had shorn at the Royal Easter Show in Auckland on Saturday.

Despite the remote location of home on the farm near Pongaroa, east of Pahiatua, Buick shore 18 finals during the season, winning five.

He was runner-up to World Championships hope and Hawke's Bay shearer Rowland Smith in the Shearing Sports New Zealand open rankings for the season when they were decided at the New Zealand Shears in Te Kuiti on March 28.

It was also at Te Kuiti that Buick was third in the New Zealand open final and missed by less than 0.2pts a place in the New Zealand Allflex New Zealand Shearing and Woolhandling team for the World Championships in France in July.

Yesterday was a bit of a family mission, with son Michael Buick finishing third in the novice event, won by Osian Hughes, from Wales.

New Zealand team blades shearers Tony Dobbs, of Fairlie, and Allan Oldfield, of Geraldine, were first and third in yesterday's Blades final, in which Oldfield was beaten to the runner-up purse by father and 2017 World Championships representative Phil Oldfield.

The senior machine-shearing final provided the third win of the season for Golden Shears and New Zealand championships finalist Jade Maguire Ratima, of Winton, and South Island-based John Cherrington scored his fourth win of the intermediate season which he started with a win in the first intermediate event at Waimate in October.

Golden Shears winner Brodie Horrell, from Gore, outclassed his opposition for his fourth and last win in three seasons as a junior, being promoted to intermediate for next summer.

RESULTS from the New Zealand Lamb Shearing Championships at the Mackenzie Shears in Fairlie on Monday, April 22, 2019:

Open final (20 lambs): David Buick (Pongaroa) 18min 25.47sec, 61.7735pts, 1; Nathan Stratford (Invercargill)19min 32.17sec, 64.2855pts, 2; Ant Frew (Pleasant Point) 20min 11.66sec, 68.683pts, 3; Eli Cummings (Pleasant Point) 20min 51.66sec, 71.183pts, 4; Jason Ratima (Winton) 20min 12.03sec, 75.0015pts, 5; Shaun Burgess (Rakaia) 18min 21.72sec, 74.386pts, 6.

Senior final (11 lambs): Jade Maguire Ratima (Winton) 14min 11.22sec, 50.2883pts 1; Luis Pincol (Chile/Waimate) 13min 46.25sec, 53.4943pts, 2; Brandon Maguire Ratima (Winton) 14min 17.94sec, 54.2606pts, 3; Alex Smith (Rakaia) 15min 33.54sec, 58.1315pts, 5; Pono Waikare (Masterton) 14min 32.54sec, 63.0088pts, 6.

Intermediate final (5 lambs): John Cherrington (Hamilton) 10min 15.57sec, 41.5785pts, 1; Brayden Clifford (Gore) 10min 59.69sec, 42.7845pts, 2; Cody Davidson (Hakatere) 13min 13.08sec, 53.454pts, 3; Makaira Black (Timaru) 11min 39.38sec, 55.369pts, 4; Bruce Dunbar (Rangiora) 12min 6.94sec, 61.147pts, 5; Darcy Tong (Taihape) 13min 58.69sec, 6.

Junior final (4 lambs): Brodie Horrell (Gore) 8min 50.16sec, 38.758pts, 1; Kelly Poehls (Makara) 11min 5.44sec, 46.022pts, 2; Colvin O'Donnell (-) 10min 37.44sec, 49.622pts, 3; Mark Kennedy (Mt Somers) 10min 11.55sec, 50.5775pts, 4; Jack Gordon (Napier/Heriot) 12min 37.44sec, 52.622pts, 5; Dan Greenwood (-) 11min 44.38sec, 69.969pts, 6.

Novice final (1 lamb): Osian Hughes (Llanrwst,Wales) 4min 13.5sec, 19.675pts, 1; Robin Krause (Pleasant Point) 4min 20.96sec, 22.048pts, 2; Michael Buick (Pongaroa) 5min 37.22sec, 26.861pts, 3; Amber Gallagher (Fairlie) 4min 46.4sec, 28.32pts, 4; Josh Sheehan (Fairlie) 5min 29.97sec, 5; Jake Dickson (-) 4min 11.5sec, 47.575pts, 6.

Blades final (4 lambs): Tony Dobbs (Fairlie) 11min 42.4sec, 43.37pts, 1; Phil Oldfield (Geraldine) 12min 3.47sec, 46.6735pts, 2; Allan Oldfield (Geraldine) 11min 20.93sec, 48.2965pts, 3; Paul Gallagher (-) 14min 56.33sec, 85.0665pts, 4.