A Home Show Winner At Rangiora Shears

North Canterbury shearer Hugh De Lacy scored his first win of the season in a four-man Open final on Saturday at the Northern A and P Show in Rangiora.

De Lacy was runner-up at his home show last year after winning at Ellesmere a week earlier, in a season he finished in style with wins at Mayfield and Oxford and second placing to New Zealand team member Leon Samuels in the New Zealand Lambshearing Championship final at the Mackenzie A and P Show in Fairlie.

In his first final in the new season De Lacy won by a comfortable margin of 3.8pts from runner-up and Ashburton shearer Taare Edwards, who just pipped New Zealand-based Chilean shearer Luis Pincol, who had the best quality points in the final of 15 sheep each – a total of 4.4 in penalties, which compared with De Lacy’s 6.2 penalties.

The difference for De Lacy was the time, finishing first in 15min 30sec, just pipping eventual fourth placegetter and fellow Rangiora shearer Lyall Windleburn, while Pincol, whose best results last season were two second placings and once third, was off the pace, finishing in 17min 4sec.

Gore shearer Emma Martin scored her third win in three outings this season by winning the Intermediate final, extending a winning sequence to five, including the New Zealand Shears Junior title in Te Kuiti seven months ago.

With wins in Intermediate finals at the Spring Shears championships in Waimate and last week at Ellesmere’s Selwyn Spring Show, Martin shore Saturday’s six sheep in 10min 10sec, matched by Argentinian shearer and finals newcomer Daniel Vallejo.

Martin also had easily the best quality to win by a wide margin of almost 10pts from eventual runner-up Caleb Brooking, of Mataura, while third place went to Rangiora shearer and 2022-2023 Shearing Sports New Zealand No 1-ranked Junior shearer Lydia Thomson, who the previous day missed a place in the Hawke’s Bay Show’s Great Raihania Shears Intermediate final in Hastings when eliminated in the semi-finals after being top qualifier in the heats.

It was another day’s good clipping for Timaru shearer Tim Hogg who added the Rangiora bladeshearing title to his surprise October 7 Waimate Spring Shears win, when he beat the members of both the New Zealand and Australian transtasman test-match bladeshearing teams.

The Senior and Junior finals on Saturday were won respectively by locally-based Blake Crooks, from Gisborne, and Levi Beedles.

The show attracted 24 shearers, down from last year’s 36, with competition organisers keen to see increased numbers over the next few weeks, at the Ashburton A and P show next Saturday, and on November 4 the Marlborough A and P Show in Blenheim and the Get to the Point Pleasant Point Gymkhana Shears in South Canterbury, leading into the New Zealand Corriedales shearing and woolhandling championships in Christchurch on November 16.

The Intermediate and Junior competitions are part of the Adaptive Health and Safety Canterbury-Marlborough Development Circuit, which offers four shearers travel, accommodation and entries for the New Zealand Shears in April. Other shows in the circuit are Peninsula Duvauchelle (January 13), Kaikoura (February 24), Amuri (March 2), Cheviot (March 9), and Methven Lambs (March 16).

RESULTS from the Northern A and P Show shearing championships at Rangiora on Saturday, October 21, 2023:

Open final (15 sheep): Hugh De Lacy (Rangiora) 15min 30sec, 52.7pts, 1; Taare Edwards (Taumarunui/Ashburton) 16min 18sec, 55.5pts, 2; Luis Pincol (Chile/Geraldine) 17min 4sec, 55.6pts, 3; Lyall Windleburn (Rangiora) 15min 32sec, 58.13pts, 4.

Senior final (10 sheep): Blake Crooks (Gisborne/Rangiora) 12min 40sec, 43.8pts, 1; John Cherrington (Ngaruawahia/Oamaru) 13min 53sec, 45.75pts, 2; Reuben King (Kaiapoi) 14min 28sec, 48.2pts, 3; Sam Bryan (Aria/West Melton) 15min 32sec, 57.1pts, 4.

Intermediate final (6 sheep): Emma Martin (Gore) 10min 10sec, 33.67pts, 1; Caleb Brooking (Mataura) 10min 45sec, 43.25pts, 2; Lydia Thomson (Rangiora) 12min 27sec, 44.35pts, 3; Daniel Vallejo (Argentina) 10min 10sec, 47.67pts, 4.

Junior final (3 sheep): Levi Beedles (Rangiora) 7min 36sec, 37.13pts, 1; Lachie Crafar (Kimbolton) 9min 7sec, 38.02pts, 2.

Blades final (4 sheep): Tim Hogg (Timaru) 11min 50sec, 40.25pts, 1; Noel Handley (Rangiora) 10min 39sec, 43.45pts, 2; Shaun Burgess (Rakaia) 14min 2sec, 77.1pts, 3.

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