Happy start to New Year for shearing Pyper

Invercargill shearer Troy Pyper extended an impressive winning sequence and got a big year under way in winning style with victory today (Saturday) at the Peninsula Duvauchelle Shears.

Pyper, becoming a leading South Island hope for this year’s Golden Shears and New Zealand championships and the dream of a place at the World championships in France on July, has had six consecutive wins in finals dating back to the Ellesmere A and P Show in October.

They included two in South Australia and then his second New Zealand Corriedale Championships Open title in Christchurch.

One of 11 entries in the Open grade today at the Duvauchelle A and P Show at Akaroa, the first South Island competition since the Nelson show on November 24, Pyper dominated throughout the heats and semi-finals but relied most on speed in a 15-sheep, four man final which he shore in 13min 34sec.

Runner-up Ant Frew, of Pleasant Point, was more than half a sheep behind but pulled back more than a point of the deficit with just seen seven penalty strokes against him on the board – an average of less than one every two sheep.

Canterbury-based Chilean shearer Luis Pincol scored his 16th Senior class win, figuring in a blow-for-blow 10-sheep final finish with Duncan Leslie, of Owaka, but opening a winning margin of 27pts based on the quality points.

Local shearer Edward Harrington had his first victory since the 2017 Ellesmere show in winning today’s Intermediate final by more than 5pts from Sam Bryan, of Darfield, and England shearer Henry Mayo scored his fifth Junior win of the season in the South Island, beating runner-up and South Island-based Kelly Poehls, of Makara, by over 5pts.

A feature of the day was a family demonstration by three generations of shearers spanning more than 60 years in age – 85-year-old Ged Foley, son and local farmer Gyles Foley, and grandson and Junior fourth placegetter Liam Alwood.

RESULTS from the Peninsula Duvauchelle Shears on Saturday, January 12, 2019:

Open final (15 sheep): Troy Pyper (Invercargill) 13min 34sec, 48.03pts, 1; Ant Frew (Pleasant Point) 14min 8sec, 48.73pts, 2; Hugh De Lacy (Rangiora) 14min 29sec, 52.65pts, 3; Grant Smith (Rakaia) 16min 3sec, 54.55pts, 4.

Senior final (10 sheep): Luis Pincol (Chile/Waimate) 13min 3sec, 44.65pts, 1; Duncan Leslie (Owaka) 13min 3sec, 47.35pts, 2; Chris Stuart (Little River) 14min 43sec, 56.55pts, 3; Rob Dwyer (Akaroa) 13min 29sec, 65.06pts, 4.

Intermediate final (6 sheep): Edward Harrington (Akaroa) 9min 8sec, 37.9pts, 1; Sam Bryan (Darfield) 10min 50sec, 43pts, 2; Brad McNamara (Le Bons Bay) 11min 32sec, 46.6pts, 3.

Junior final (4 sheep): Henry Mayo (England) 8min 51sec, 32.55pts, 1; Kelly Poehls (Makara) 10min 15sec, 37pts, 2; Ben Forrester (Leithfield) 9min 23sec, 38.65pts, 3; Liam Alwood (Christchurch) 9min 35sec, 49.75pts, 4.

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