Hawke's Bay shearer John Kirkpatrick on his way to winning the Dannevirke A&P Show's open final. Photo / Joanne Crawford
Shearer John Kirkpatrick has bounced back from the disappointment of missing out on another world title bid when he won the open final at the Dannevirke A&P Show on Friday.
It was the second win of the season for Kirkpatrick, who missed a place in a Shearing Sports New Zealand team selection series final on a countback of best placings after a tie on series points.
The former world champion and four‑time Golden Shears open champion is now in his 32nd season of open‑class competition and is approaching a total of 220 open‑final wins worldwide.
Kirkpatrick, from the East Coast but based mainly in Napier during his career, first won the Dannevirke title in 2002, four weeks before ending Sir David Fagan’s 12 years of domination of the Golden Shears open final in Masterton.
Although missing out on January 24 ended his chances of a world championship place in Masterton on March 4-7, he looms as a potential finalist in the Golden Shears open, which he has won four times, the last when they were first held in Masterton in 2012.
In a four-man final on Friday, Kirkpatrick resisted the temptation to chase pacemaker, locally-based fellow former world and Golden Shears champion and Scotland representative Gavin Mutch.
Mutch smashed the 20 sheep out in 15m 5s in an apparent bid to match the pace of the previous weekend’s Taihape final, in which two shearers cut out the 20 sheep in under 15 minutes.
The rest of the field were at least a sheep behind, but Mutch sacrificed some quality, yielding to the better jobs of both Kirkpatrick and Hastings shearer Brook Hamerton, the latter finishing 0.6pts shy of his first open title.
Hawke’s Bay shearer Rowland Smith just missed qualifying for the final as next-man-in, just ahead of brother Matt Smith, who had arrived home last Thursday to start preparing to represent England at the world championships.
Laura Bradley also reached the semi-final in her home show, as did the second England representative, Nick Greaves.
Logan Kamura, of Marton, and Vinniye Phillips, of Taumarunui, both turned back similar disappointments over lost world championships team opportunities by finishing first and second in the open woolhandling final.
It’s Kamura’s most successful season, with three wins since finishing second to Te Kuiti’s Keryn Herbert in the New Zealand Shears’ open final in Te Kuiti last March.
On Friday, he was the top qualifier through the heats and semi-finals, seeing off internationals Herbert and Taihape winner and defending Dannevirke open champion Ngaio Hanson, of Eketahuna, to become the sixth different winner of the Dannevirke title in a row.
It was a big day, with a Dannevirke record 183 entries, eight more than last year and including 122 in five shearing grades (open 26, senior 23, intermediate 20, junior 25, novice 28) and 61 in four woolhandling grades (open 16, senior 9, junior 16, novice 20).
It featured an increasing presence of overseas competitors, lured by the chance to compete at the March 4-7 Golden Shears in Masterton, which includes the 20th World Championships.
This was highlighted when the first three in the senior shearing final were from the UK, including an England quinella from winner Luke Parkhouse, from Tiverton, in Devon, and Daniel Copley, from Grantham, Lincolnshire, and in the junior final being won by Irish shearer Sean Dunne, from Wicklow.
Zakaia Lewis, from Gisborne, followed recent second placings at Wairoa and Taihape by winning the intermediate shearing final.
In other woolhandling finals, Te Whetu Brown, from Wairoa, won the senior final, her second win of the season and fifth in the grade in the last three seasons, and the junior final was won by Caitlyn Murphy, from Pongaroa.
Next on the shearing sports competition calendar is the Aria Waitangi Day Sports shearing and woolhandling on Waitangi Day.
Saturday will be busy, with the Rangitikei Shearing Sports North Island shearing and woolhandling championships in Marton, the Reefton Shears at the Inangahua A&P Show, and the North Kaipara A&P Show shearing at Paparoa.
Friday, January 30, 2026
Shearing:
Open final (20 sheep): John Kirkpatrick (Pakipaki) 16m 16s, 56.3pts, 1; Brook Hamerton (Hastings) 17m 3s, 56.9pts, 2; Gavin Mutch (Scotland/Dannevirke) 15m 5s, 57.3pts, 3; Reuben Alabaster (Taihape) 16m 4s, 58.75pts, 4.
Senior final (10 sheep): Luke Parkhouse (Tiverton, England) 10m 29s, 39.65pts, 1; Daniel Copley (Grantham, England) 10m 57s, 40.95pts, 2; Luke Magee (Raphoe, Ireland) 12m 14s, 43.8pts, 3; Josh Chrystal (Napier) 12m 13s, 44.95pts, 4.
Intermediate final (6 sheep): Zakaia Lewis (Gisborne/Dannevirke) 7m 6s, 27.133pts, 1; Lachie Cameron (Kimbolton) 8m 16s, 29.467pts, 2; Riley Norman (Eketahuna) 7m 57s, 31.183pts, 3; Will Bevan (Crickhowell, Wales) 8m 12s, 34.6pts, 4.
Junior final (4 sheep): Sean Dunne (Wicklow, Ireland) 7m 4s, 26.2pts, 1; Ashlin Swann (Wairoa) 7m 8s, 29.9pts, 2; Kingston Pue (Raetihi) 7m 6s, 31.3pts, 3; Mac Foreman (Pahiatua) 6m 42s, 36.6pts, 4.
Novice final (1 sheep): Sam Lawson 2m 47s, 19.35pts, 1; Hinepuroto Hauiti 4m 32s, 20.6pts, 2; Sophie Chandler 5m 7s, 23.35pts, 3; Oliver Selby 4m 11s, 26.55pts, 4.
Open Speed Shear: Clay Harris (Piopio) 1; Jack Fagan (Te Kuiti) 2; Reuben Alabaster (Taihape) 3; Forde Alexander (Taumarunui) 4.
Senior Speed Shear: Callum Bosley (England/Otorohanga) 1; Taelor Tarrant (Taumarunui) 2; Kaivah Cooper (Napier) 3; Randall Aranui (Martinborough) 4.
Woolhandling
Open final: Logan Kamura (Marton) 51.58pts, 1; Vinniye Phillips (Taumarunui) 61.318pts, 2; Lucky Garrett (Pahiatua) 66.658pts, 3.
Senior final: Te Whetu Brown (Wairoa/Napier) 41.09pts, 1; Amy Bell (Weber) 46.87pts, 2; Nohokainga Maraki (Flaxmere) 59.39pts, 3.
Junior final: Caitlyn Murphy (Pongaroa) 39.15pts, 1; Leah Taimanu (Nuhaka) 49.22pts, 2; Jade Hikawai 43.03pts, 3; Paige Marshall 54.21pts, 4; Waiari Puna (Napier) 59.59pts, 5; Miracle Waikato (Hastings) 59.606pts, 6.
Novice final: Hinepuroto Hauiti 38.16pts, 1; Jennifer Murphy 38.474pts, 2; Piata Eruera (Eketahuna) 42.394pts, 3; Riria Moanaroa 42.544pts, 4; Ashleigh Hape (Dannevirke) 49.92pts, 5; Jorja Grant 54.19pts, 6.