Horowhenua Shears: Hemi Braddick wins open final

The lineup after the Horowhenua Shears open final on Sunday. Winner Hemi Braddick (left), runner-up Aaron Haynes, third-placed Matene Mason and fourth-placed David Gordon. All except Haynes had competed the previous day at Winton, over 1000km away in Southland. Photo / Supplied

Wairarapa shearer Hemi Braddick further proved he’s a contender for a world shearing championship berth when he won the open final at the Horowhenua Shears on Sunday.

Back from the competition break, Braddick hit the board running in the new year with a busy weekend full of travel.

He was runner-up to Mataura shearer Brett Roberts in the Northern Southland Community Shears Full Wool Championship final near Lumsden on Friday and a semi-finalist in the Southland Shears New Zealand crossbred lambs final at the Winton A and P Show the next day.

He then flew from the deep south to shear yet again, less than 24 hours later, in Levin.

Last year, the 31-year-old from Eketahuna claimed his first open win in ten years of competing in the top grade, taking out the Poverty A and P Show’s Gisborne Shears open final in October.

Braddick wasn’t the only traveller however and was one of three in Sunday’s four-man final that had made the same journey.

Masterton shearers Matene Mason and David Gordon finished third and fourth respectively.

Meanwhile, Gordon’s brother and fellow intrepid adventurer, Adam Gordon, completed a lucrative weekend, winning the senior final after finishing third in the full wool senior final on Friday and winning the senior final on the Winton lambs the next day.

Intermediate Hawke’s Bay shearer Bruce Grace made it a double for the weekend by adding a Horowehenua title to his victory at the Wairoa A and P Show on Saturday.

The junior final was won by Jake Goldsbury, from Waitotara, and the novice title went to Sam Fletcher, of Hawke’s Bay.

A feature of the day was the number of competitors from overseas, working in New Zealand as the country combats a shortage of shearers in the main shear, with finalists on Sunday including shearers from England, Ireland and Wales.

Other shearers included four from Mongolia, based with Piopio contractor Mark Barrowcliffe - each shearing in competition for the first time.

Up to 150 shearers and woolhandlers are now expected to converge on Taihape this Saturday for the local show’s A-grade 60th Shearing and Woolhandling Championships.

This is ahead of five shows in four days the following weekend.

The North Island plays host to the Dannevirke A and P Show shears on February 3, the North Island championships in Marton the following day, and the Aria Shears on Waitangi Day.

In the South Island, the focus turns to the Tasman and West Coast regions, with the Tapawera Shears, south of Nelson, on Saturday and the Reefton Shears on February 4 at the Inangahua A and P Show.

Results from the Horowhenua Shears at Levin on Sunday, January 22, 2023

Open final (20 sheep): Hemi Braddick (Eketahuna) 19min 15sec, 66.3pts, 1; Aaron Haynes (Feilding) 20min 46sec, 67.15pts, 2; Matene Mason (Masterton) 20min 53sec, 71.35pts, 3; David Gordon (Masterton) 21min 43sec, 77.95pts, 4.

Senior final (10 sheep): Adam Gordon (Masterton) 12min 29sec, 45.55pts, 1; Daniel Biggs (Mangamahu) 13min 4sec, 48.9pts, 2; Topia Barrowcliffe (Piopio) 12min 4sec, 51.6pts, 3; Logan Bethel (Levin) 14min 45sec, 54.85pts, 4.

Intermediate final (5 sheep): Bruce Grace (Napier) 6min 55sec, 29.55pts, 1; Sam Green (England) 6min 35sec, 33.15pts, 2; Darren Bryant (Levin) 8min 31sec, 42.15pts, 3; Craig Naylor (England) 8min 47sec, 48.45pts, 4.

Junior final (4 sheep): Jake Goldsbury (Waitotara) 7min 51sec, 38.05pts, 1; Lachie Cameron (Kimbolton) 10min 12sec, 38.35pts, 2; Pat Corrigan (Ireland) 8min 40sec, 41pts, 3; Evan Rowbotham (Wales) 9min 12sec, 43.1sec, 4.

Novice final (2 sheep): Sam Fletcher (Hawke’s Bay) 7min 47sec, 39.85pts, 1; George Peacock (-) 9min 2 sec, 56.1pts, 2; Ernie Timms (Levin) 6min 50sec, 73pts, 3; Camden Bolton (Feilding) 10min 10sec, 77pts, 4.