Nathan Stratford wins National Shearing Circuit final

Nathan Stratford says there is a camaraderie among the competitive shearing fraternity - until you pick up the hand-piece.

The Invercargill man took the spoils at the 50th NZ Shearing Circuit Final on Saturday after going into the event as the TAB's odds-on favourite in a season beset by Covid-19 cancellations and displacement.

That displacement brought the final to Central Otago and the South Island for the first time.

Held at the Golden Shears in Masterton for 48 years but with that event cancelled for the past two summers, the final of the PGG Wrightson Vetmed series was shifted to Armidale Merino Stud, at Gimmerburn in the heart of rural Maniototo.

As well the unique change in location to the more than 2000ha Armidale, the event was one of only three punters could bet on in New Zealand on Saturday, the others being Super Rugby Pacific games and a Women's Cricket World Cup match.

With crowd numbers below the 100-person mark stipulated by the Red traffic light setting and everyone from the pen-boys to judges wearing masks, witnessing the mask-free shearers sweating through two heats before the final was a shearing shed experience with a difference.

Stratford, the 2014 winner, went into the final ranked No 1 among the 12 shearers from points across five qualifying rounds throughout the curtailed season.

Nathan Stratford, of Invercargill, competes in the heats of the NZ Shearing Circuit Final at Armidale Merino Stud in Gimmerburn on Saturday. He went on to win the competition. Photo / Jared Morgan

It was his 18th final.

Stratford said the circuit was less gruelling this year but the feeling was the same - friends became adversaries as soon as it was time to shear the first sheep.

"When you get on the [shearing] board they're your enemies."

Gore's Ringakaha Paewai competes in his heat of the NZ Shearing Circuit Final at Armidale Merino Stud in Gimmerburn on Saturday. Photo / Jared Morgan

The finals started with two semifinal heats of six shearers each shearing 16 sheep, four each in four categories: merino wethers, half-breed long-wool ewes, second-shear ewes and lambs.

It was all six in the second heat who qualified for the final, held soon afterwards, in which the number of sheep in each category was bumped up to five.

Masterton shearer Paerata Abraham was top qualifier for the final and posted the fastest time — 23min 14.8sec.

In the final Abraham was first off the board in 27min 22.1sec, beating Stratford by 0.78sec, but the southerner had the best-quality points, both on the board and in the pens, and won by 2.2165pts, from Parnassus shearer Hugh De Lacy, who also had better-quality points.

Abraham was third, Jack Fagan, son of shearing great Sir David Fagan, of Te Kuiti, fourth, Ringakaha Paewai, of Gore, was fifth and sixth was Willy McSkimming, a grandson of Fred McSkimming and the first of the family to contest the final, which incorporates the McSkimming Memorial Triple Crown named in honour of his grandfather.

Masterton shearer Paerata Abraham wiped the board of the other 12 shearers in terms of time but not points, going on to finish third in the NZ Shearing Circuit Final. Photo / Jared Morgan

There were surprise eliminations in the semifinals, most notably defending champion Leon Samuels, of Invercargill, who stepped up to be Stratford's pen-boy in the final.