Just days after Megan Whitehead set a phenomenal new women’s world record in Gore on Thursday, shearing 661 lambs in just nine hours, more southern shearers demonstrated their competitive edge at two southern shearing sports.  

Farmer, shearer and six-times Golden Shears Open finalist David Buick ventured from remote Pongaroa in northern Wairarapa to claim a national titles double in Southland.

He won his first Northern Southland Community Shears national longwool championship, near Lumsden, on Friday (January 15).

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He then won his third consecutive Southland Shears national crossbred lamb shearing title at the Winton A and P Show on Saturday (January 16). 

He has now won five finals this season.

Shearer Leon Samuels came second at the Lumsden event, shearing his 20 sheep in 18 minutes 38.220 seconds, just 10 seconds slower than Buick.

Leon Samuels in action at the Northern Southland Community Shears on Friday. PHOTO: Supplied.

Treasurer of the Northern Southland Community Shears Jenny Campbell said the day was a huge success with last minute entries coming in quickly as expected.

She said numbers had been affected by the border restrictions this year, as overseas entrants who usually made up around 10% of entries, could not participate in the competition. 

All up, Campbell said were slightly fewer entries this year with 48 for shearing in total, compared with 66 last year. 

However, she said woolhandling has remained popular with 30 total entries compared with 27 last year. 

Campbell noted that she was pleased to see more women entering in both woolhandling and shearing in one day – something that could be very taxing on the body and was not done by the men.

Top woolhandlers were also in on the act, featured by a popular and long-overdue victory for Southlander Chelsea Collier secured a popular and long-overdue victory in the Open woolhandling final in Lumsden.

Despite reaching many finals over the years, Collier, 33, hadn’t won since claiming a victory in her first Open-grade final in Balclutha in 2005 - a New Zealand Woolhandler of the Year title that won her a place in the 2005-2006 New Zealand trans-Tasman series team. 

Chelsea Collier, who won the national longwool championships Open woolhandling title at Lowther Downs, near Lumsden, on Friday. A regular finalist, it was her first win since February 2005. PHOTO: Supplied/SSNZ

From Ohai, she is now based in Hamilton and working the current season in Masterton.

In 2019 Collier reached both the Golden Shears and New Zealand Championships Open finals, and the previous season she was runner-up in two national title events. 

It was a return to the script 24 hours later when 2019 World teams champion Pagan Karauria successfully defended the lambs title in Winton with her 6th win in the event.

Another big winner during the weekend was Masterton shearer Adam Gordon who also ventured to the south to win the Intermediate finals at both Lumsden and Winton, his 3rd and 4th national titles this season.

Aged just 20, and the winner of the Golden Shears Novice shearing and woolhandling finals just two years ago, as well as the No 1-ranked Junior shearer nationally last season, Gordon has this season also won Intermediate titles at the New Zealand Spring championships in Waimate in October and the New Zealand Corriedale championships in a woolshed near Hanmer in November. 

He has more wins this season than any other competitor, being beaten just once in eight finals.

The national season has been cut from around 60 competitions to 49 amid the impact of the Covid-19 crisis as well as sheep supply issues.

All eyes will soon be on the Golden Shears in Masterton which takes place from March 4 to 6 and the season-ending New Zealand championships in Te Kuiti on April 8 to 10.