Northland shearer Toa Henderson, seen here winning the Apiti Sports Shears title for the first time in 2020. Photo / SSNZ
Northland shearer Toa Henderson was in ever-increasingly dominant form as he entered the last weekend before the Golden Shears with major wins at Taumarunui on Friday and Āpiti on Saturday.
In the 20-sheep, six-man open finals at both the Taumarunui Shears and the Āpiti Sports Shears, each of which attracted more than 200 shearers and woolhandlers across the grades, Henderson, of Kaiwaka, posted the fastest time with the best-quality points, both on the shearing board and with the finished product in the pens.
The Taumarunui win was comfortable enough, with his 16m 48.04s the quickest by 10 seconds and a 2.332pts margin over Te Kūiti shearer Mark Grainger.
However, at Āpiti 24 hours later, he smashed them with his 15m 26s being a record for a 20-sheep final at Āpiti - finishing 23 seconds quicker than, and five points clear of, runner-up David Buick.
Buick is a three-time Āpiti open winner and miracle man, continuing a comeback from severe pelvic and other injuries suffered when crushed in a ditch on his Pongaroa farm in October 2021.
With the Pahīatua Shears still to come on Sunday to complete the build-up to the 62nd Golden Shears, which starts in Masterton on Thursday, it was for Henderson, scoring his eighth and ninth open-final wins of the season, almost the complete package needed to win the big open final on Saturday night.
But, yet to shear in shearing’s glamour 20 minutes, he remained in one-step-at-a-time mode after an Āpiti final that had three shearers from overseas, possibly a first for a major open final in New Zealand.
“The top of the country were here except one, who we all know who it is, that wasn’t,” Henderson said.
The absentee was Hawke’s Bay shearer Rowland Smith, going for a ninth Golden Shears open win this week and likely to be the TAB opening-price favourite, despite only three shows and one win in 2024.
Third at Taumarunui was former world and Golden Shears open champion Gavin Mutch, who has lived in New Zealand for more than 20 years and is now farming in Southern Hawke’s Bay.
Fourth was Gethin Lewis, of Wales, and a seasonal shearer in Hawke’s Bay for most of the past decade, and fifth was world nine-hour lamb shearing record-holder Stuart Connor, who moved from England to Hawke’s Bay in November.
At Āpiti, Te Kūiti shearer Jack Fagan was third, Mutch was fourth, and fifth and sixth were Masterton shearers Paerata Abraham and Chris Dickson.
It was a day of family success at Āpiti for the runner and runner-up, with Henderson’s dad, Mike, winning the veterans event, and Buick’s daughter, Gemma, winning the novice woolhandling.
Other features of the start to the weekend were the Taumarunui intermediate win by Western Australia shearer Danielle Mauger, Papatawa shearer Laura Bradley’s win in a 10-sheep Āpiti senior final, with fastest time and marking her further as a prospect to be the first woman to win the Golden Shears senior title, and Napier shearer Kaivah Cooper’s junior wins at both Taumarunui and Āpiti, taking him to eight wins this season.
Read more shearing and woolhandling stories here.
Each of the two shows attracted 74 woolhandlers across the grades, with open-final honours shared.
At Taumarunui, Logan Kamura, of Marton, scored his second win in a week, with Chelsea Collier, of Hamilton, the runner-up and first-season open competitor Te Anna Phillips third.
At Āpiti, former world teams title winner Keryn Herbert, of Te Kūiti, scored her fourth win this season, and her third at Āpiti in a career tally of 56 open-final victories.
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Ngaira Puha, of Āpiti, was runner-up, and third was 2009 Golden Shears senior champion and occasional open competitor Ratapu Moore, from Northland but based in Marlborough with husband and reigning PGG Wrightson Vetmed national shearing circuit champion Angus Moore.
The woolhandlers have their final shakedown on Wednesday at the Wairarapa Pre-Shears Woolhandling Championships in a woolshed just north of Masterton, incorporating the North Island senior and junior woolhandling circuit finals.
Friday, February 23
Open final (20 sheep): Toa Henderson (Kaiwaka) 16m 48.04s, 56.102pts, 1; Mark Grainger (Te Kūiti) 17m 0.88s, 58.434pts, 2; Gavin Mutch (Scotland/Dannevirke) 16m 58.25sec, 58.463pts, 3; Gethin Lewis (Rhayader, Wales) 17m 22.92s, 58.796pts, 4; Stuart Connor (England/Hastings) 17m 25.22s, 59.361pts, 5; Lionel Taumata (Gore) 19m 22.77s, 65.189pts, 6.
Senior final (10 sheep): Sean Fagan (Te Kūiti) 10m 52.4sec, 40.52pts, 1; Bruce Grace (Wairoa/Napier) 11m 16.07s, 42.304pts, 2; Dre Roberts (Mataura) 11m 09.59s, 43.18pts, 3; Blake Crooks (Rangiora) 11m 22.17s, 44.059s, 4; Callum Bosley (England) 11m 53.53s, 45.877pts, 5; Jimmy Napier (Riverton) 12m 58.63s, 46.632pts, 6.
Intermediate final (6 sheep): Dannielle Mauger (Mullalyup, Western Australia) 9m 40.23s, 33.178pts, 1; Ethan Fladgate (Te Awamutu) 9m 7.89s, 35.062pts, 2; Julian Karl (Traunstein, Germany) 9m 22.32s, 36.449pts, 3; Kyle Rhodes (Wairoa) 8m 41.29s, 37.398pts, 4; Emma Martin (Gore) 10m 5.7s, 37.618pts, 5; Cheyden Winiana (Nūhaka) 9m 40.17s, 38.676pts, 6.
Junior final (4 sheep): Kaivah Cooper (Napier) 6m 40.27s, 25.524pts, 1; Orlando Ratima (Hunterville) 7m 10.89s, 27.045pts, 2; Lachie Cameron (Kimbolton) 7m 40s, 30.5pts, 3; Marshall Buckman (Āpiti) 7m 1.33s, 31.067pts, 4; Thomas Marchant (Maramarua) 6m 53.69s, 33.185pts, 5; Arana Marshall (Huntly) 8m 9.78s, 35.489pts, 6.
Novice final (2 sheep): Blake Wildermoth (Kaitieke) 5m 22.92s, 27.646pts, 1; Kevin Noone (Ireland) 6m 1.29s, 28.565pts, 2; Rebecca Dickson (Tikokino) 7m 59.3s, 30.465pts, 3; Alex Glasgow (Marton) 6m 52.43s, 30.622pts, 4; Mack Belton (Whanganui) 7m 56.36s, 38.318pts, 5; Te Anna Phillips (Taumarunui) 9m 33.14s, 41.157pts, 6.
Open final: Logan Kamura (Marton) 44.43pts, 1; Chelsea Collier (Hamilton) 55.95pts, 2; Te Anna Phillips (Taumarunui) 70pts, 3; Brittany Tibble (Gisborne) 89.43pts, 4; Miri Haig (Taumarunui) 99.16pts, 5.
Senior final: Vinniye Phillips (Taumarunui) 63.918pts, 1; Whakapunake “Naki” Maraki (Flaxmere) 66.57pts, 2; Nohokainga Maraki (Taumarunui) 73.19pts, 3; Tre Ratana Sciascia (Taihape) 74.224pts, 4; Kalah Hadfield (-) 82.374pts, 5.
Junior final: Alice Otimi 55.932pts, 1; Bryndyll Pinkham 56.87pts, 2; Rahera Lewis (Taihape) 63pts, 3; Kaivah Cooper (Napier) 67.868pts, 4; Kelly Barrett (Kawhia) 81.03pts, 5.
Novice final: Addison Tarrant 35.56pts, 1; Mark Delaney 53.72pts, 2; Herbert Ela 60.72pts, 3; Maaka Nikora (Taumarunui) 70.632pts, 4; Olivia Burton 72.91pts, 5.
Saturday, February 24, 2024
Open final (20 sheep): Toa Henderson (Kaiwaka) 15m 26s, 52.95pts, 1; David Buick (Pongaroa) 15m 49s, 57.95pts, 2; Jack Fagan (Te Kūiti) 16m 36s, 58.5pts, 3; Gavin Mutch (Scotland/Dannevirke) 16m 15s, 58.5pts, 4; Paerata Abraham (Masterton) 17m 20s, 61.9pts, 5; Chris Dickson (Masterton) 15m 44s, 67.6pts 6.
Senior final (10 sheep): Laura Bradley (Papatawa) 10m 47s, 40.85pts, 1; Will Sinclair (Balclutha) 11m 4s, 41.9pts, 2; Bruce Grace (Napier) 10m 53s, 42.75pts, 3; Nathan Bee (Gore) 11m 55s, 44.35pts, 4; Blake McKenzie (Riverton) 11m 42s, 44.5pts, 5; Jack Hutchinson (Newcastle Upon Tyne, England) 10m 56s, 47.8pts, 6.
Intermediate final (6 sheep): Dylan Young (Gisborne) 8m 7s, 33.35pts, 1; Cody Waihape (Gore) 8m 41s, 33.3833pts, 2; Pat Corrigan 8m 23s, 34.65pts, 3; Emma Martin (Gore) 9m 22s, 34.7667pts, 4; Ryka Swann (Wairoa) 8m 53s, 36.65pts, 5; Matthew Smith (Ōtorohanga) 9m 8s, 36.9pts, 6.
Junior final (4 sheep): Kaivah Cooper (Napier) 6m 40s, 30.5pts, Lachie Cameron (Kimbolton) 6m 48s, 31.15pts, 2; Orlando Ratima (Hunterville) 6m 54s, 31.2pts, 3; Marshall Buckman (Āpiti) 6m 44s, 32.7pts, 4; Benazzi Ward (Pirinoa) 7m 3s, 40.65pts, 5; Peter Losty (Meath, Ireland) 8m 5s, 41pts, 6.
Novice (2 sheep): Waiari Puna (Napier) 6m 42s, 29.6pts, 1; Grady Collis (Tauhoa) 9m, 32pts, 2; Abbey Grant (Feilding) 8m 9s, 32.45pts, 3; Ryan Craw (Coromandel) 6m 21s, 35.05pts, 4; Ben Soloman (-) 8m 3s, 39.15pts, 5; Te Anna Phillips (Taumarunui) 7m 58s, 40.4pts, 6.
Veterans (2 sheep): Mike Henderson (Kaiwaka) 2m 46s, 17.3pts, 1; Graeme Roadley (Wairoa) 3m 19s, 17.45pts, 2; Kevin Buckman (Āpiti) 3m 55s, 18.85pts, 3; Blair McCarroll (Āpiti) 2m 39s, 18.95pts, Tony Young (Feilding) 2m 46s, 19.8pts, 5; Russell Knight (Āpiti) 2m 55s, 20.25pts, 6.
Open final: Keryn Herbert (Te Kūiti) 55.25pts, 1; Ngaira Puha (Āpiti) 62.31pts, 2; Ratapu Moore (Seddon) 82.6pts, 3; Ngaio Hanson (Eketāhuna) 83.524pts, 4; Chelsea Collier (Hamilton) 5; Marika Braddick (Eketāhuna) 6.
Senior final: Vinniye Phillips (Taumarunui) 56.75pts, 1; Amy Bell (Weber) 74.968pts, 2; Cortez Ostler (Dannevirke) 78.15pts, 3; Nohokainga Maraki (Flaxmere) 89.44pts, 4.
Junior final: Mere Maraki (Flaxmere) 62.66pts, 1; Capree Wallace (Taihape) 64.44pts, 2; Makayla Neil (Piopio) 73.63pts, 3; Waiari Puna (Napier) 86.34pts, 4.
Novice: Gemma Buick (Pongaroa) 56.08pts, 1; Sophie Humphrey (-) 62.16pts, 2; Jemma Brears (Ohura) 64.59pts, 3; Caitlin Murphy (-) 70.84pts, 4.
There are 93 horses still facing an uncertain fate.