Laura Bradley back home with her ribbons for first in the Wairarapa senior woolhandling final and the historic fourth place in the open shearing final. Photo / Shearing Sports NZ
Southern Hawke’s Bay mum Laura Bradley created shearing history when she reached the open shearing final at the Wairarapa Spring Shears.
In only her second competition in the top grade, she is thought to have become the first woman to reach an open shearing final in the North Island, and one of fewer than 10 worldwide.
She finished fourth in her first 15-sheep final, and also won her first senior woolhandling title, at her first attempt in that grade.
The only other woman to reach an open shearing final in New Zealand in the last 15 years was Sarah Hewson, of Havelock, in 2022, when she came fourth at the Nelson A and P Show.
Bradley last season won 12 senior finals, becoming the first woman to claim the New Zealand Shears senior title in Te Kuiti and the first woman to become the No.1-ranked senior in New Zealand in any season.
Bradley’s fourth placing on Sunday, in a season where the main goal was to become only the second woman to reach the Golden Shears open top 30 quarter-finals in March, came against three of the best, who had each won the Wairarapa final at least once.
The winner, for a fourth time, was Pongaroa farmer David Buick, the 2024 New Zealand Shears open champion and No.1-ranked open shearer nationwide last season, who eight days earlier was in Australia shearing his 21st test match for New Zealand.
The runner-up was 2017 world champion and four-times Golden Shears open champion John Kirkpatrick, who last year won the Wairarapa title for a 10th time.
Third was Eketahuna shearer Hemi Braddick, who won the title in 2023.
Among those who did not make the final was 2012 world champion Gavin Mutch, who in 2015 became the only shearer from overseas to win the Golden Shears open title, and who will be representing Scotland at the 2026 World Championships in Masterton.
While Buick appeared to dominate on the board, as the only shearer to cut out an average of less than a minute a sheep and finishing in 14min 53.22s – just 0.527pts separated the first three in the final count.
Bradley sheared the 15 in 17min 21.07sec.
The senior shearing final was won by Kaivah Cooper, of Napier, the intermediate by Buick’s son, Michael, the junior final by Waiari Puna, of Napier, and the novice by Charlie Kjestrup, of Akitio.
Cooper, Michael Buick, and Kjestrup had each won at the Hawke’s Bay show’s Great Raihania Shears on October 24.
The open woolhandling final was a triumph for Marton’s Logan Kamura, who was runner-up last April in the New Zealand Shears open final in Te Kuiti, his only final last season, and who, competing only occasionally, last won at the Manawaru show in 2019.
The junior woolhandling final was won by Dannevirke High School head girl Caitlin Murphy, and the novice by Kobie Foster, the pair helping make it a big day for remote Pongaroa, which claimed four of the nine titles.
The shears had 94 entries, with 50 shearers (open 13, senior 6, intermediate 5, junior 16, novice 10) and 44 woohandlers (open 17, senior 5, junior 13, novice 9).
Meanwhile, Invercargill shearer Nathan Stratford scored his second win in a week and moved ever closer to a career total of 100 open wins in claiming the honours at the Ashburton A and P Show on Saturday.
He was just fourth off the board in a five-man final of 20 sheep each, but keeping up the trademark quality, beat runner-up and last-man-off Corey Palmer, of Dipton, by 2.2pts.
All five finished in under 20 minutes.
The senior final was won by Zion Smith, of Christchurch, the intermediate by Tye Meikle, of Oamaru, the junior by Jacob Booth, of Waimate, and the open blades final by Tony Dobbs, of Fairlie, confirming a place at the world championships with one round left in the selection series.
It was two-in-a-row for Meikle and Booth, who had each won at Rangiora a week earlier.
The next competition in the North Island is the Central Hawke’s Bay A and P Show shearing and woolhandling next Saturday, while in the South Island, competitions will be held at the Marlborough A and P Show and at Pleasant Point’s Get to the Point street carnival.
Wairarapa A and P Show at Clareville, Carterton, on Sunday, November 2, 2025.
Shearing:
Open final (15 sheep): David Buick (Pongaroa) 14m 53.22s, 58.131pts, 1; John Kirkpatrick (Paki Paki) 15m 58.03s, 58.242pts, 2; Hemi Braddick (Eketahuna) 15m 11.75s, 58.658pts, 3; Laura Bradley (Papatawa) 17m 21.07s, 66.924pts, 4.
Senior final (10 sheep): Kaivah Cooper (Napier) 14m 21.14s, 58.131pts, 1; Dalton Tangiwai (Pahiatua) 15m 3.37s, 57.068pts, 2; Mark Ferguson (Elsthorpe) 15m 47.03s, 63.352pts, 3; Ryka Swann (Wairoa) 14m 50.02s, 63.801pts, 4.
Intermediate final (5 sheep): Michael Buick (Pongaroa) 8m 34.53s, 36.926pts, 1; Riley Norman (Eketahuna) 9m 17.85s, 38.692pts, 2; Lydia Thomson (Oxford/Napier) 8m 56.47s, 39.624pts, 3; Jerome Papworth (Masterton) 7m 47.05s, 46.752pts, 4.
Junior final (4 sheep): Waiari Puna (Napier) 9m 58.91s, 42.196pts, 1; Krain Hauiti (Dannevirke) 8m 18.65s, 43.682pts, 2; Mac Foreman (Pahiatua) 9m 36.25s, 47.062pts, 3; Cam Henson (Woodville) 9m 26.929s, 51.096pts, 4.
Novice final (2 sheep): Charlie Kjestrup (Akitio) 7m 46.06s, 42.803pts, 1; Oliver Bambry (Pahiatua) 8m 36.12s, 42.896pts, 2; Shyla Gordon (Masterton) 10m 17.9s, 46.895pts, 3; Rikihana Salmond (Te Kuiti) 8m 26.66s, 47.833pts, 4.
Woolhandling:
Open final (6 fleeces): Logan Kamura (Marton) 125.056pts, 1; Ngaio Hanson (Eketahuna) 144.838pts, 2; Ana Braddick (Eketahuna) 205.31pts, 3.
Senior final: Laura Bradley (Papatawa) 167.9pts, 1; Kelly Barrett (Kawhia) 191.28pts, 2; Angeline Colquhoun (Masterton) 218.84pts, 3.
Junior final: Caitlin Murphy (Pongaroa) 68.638pts, 1; Waiari Puna (Napier) 94.538pts, 2; Gema Buick (Pongaroa) 110.456pts, 3.
Novice final: Kobie Foster (Pongaroa) 68.738pts, 1; Atahua Oliver (Pahiatua) 70.87pts, 2; Piata Eruera (Eketahuna) 84.356pts, 3.
Saturday, November 1, 2025
Open final (20 sheep): Nathan Stratford (Invercargill) 19m 39s, 62.85pts, 1; Corey Palmer (Dipton) 19m 50s, 65.05pts, 2; Ant Frew (Pleasant Point) 19m 42s, 65.2pts, 3; Lionel Taumata (Gore) 19m 27s, 65.3pts, 4; Blake Crooks (Rangiora) 19m 35s, 67.3pts, 5.
Senior final(12 sheep): Zion Smith (Christchurch) 14m 56s, 53.05pts, 1; Dre Roberts (Mataura) 15m 11s, 53.88pts, 2; Emma Martin (Gore) 16m 43s, 54.48pts, 3; James Wilson (Winton) 15m 48s, 58.07pts, 4; Cody Waihape (Gore) 16m, 58.08pts, 5
Intermediate final (5 sheep): Tye Meikle (Oamaru) 8m, 27pts, 1; Izaak Cleland (Oamaru) 7m 36s, 29.2pts, 2; Caleb Makuch (Temuka) 8m 30s, 32.9pts, 3; Lachie Cameron (Pohangina) 9m 19s, 34.45pts, 4; Michael Carwell (-) 10m 11s, 38.75pts, 5.
Junior final (3 sheep): Jacob Booth (Waimate) 7m 28s, 32.73pts, 1; Ben Rowson-Jones (Derbyshire, England) 5m 54s, 33.7pts, 2; Tyran Smith (Christchurch) 7m 43s, 34.82pts, 3; Joel McCone (Remuka) 7m 5s, 35.92pts, 4; Jamys Christian (Isle of Man) 7m 12s, 35.93pts, 5.
Open blades final (4 sheep): Tony Dobbs (Fairlie) 11m 55s, 41.75pts, 1; Peter Race (Rakaia) 11m 48s, 44.65pts, 2; Mike McConnell (Christchurch) 13m 9s, 45.7pts, 3; Phil Oldield (Geraldine) 14m 10s, 47.75pts, 4; Shaun Burgess (Rakaia) 14m 42s, 51.85pts, 5.