Southland shearer Leon Samuels became the first South Islander to win the Golden Shears Open shearing title in 35 years in a dramatic six-man final of 20 sheep each in Masterton on Saturday night.
The winner of the New Zealand Shears Open final in Te Kuiti last April, Samuels was second in the race — the only shearer to get within a sheep of miracle-man and Wairarapa shearer David Buick, who shore the final in 16m 16.064s, one of the quicker times in the 62 years of the event.
But the quality of shear counts just as much and after an inspection, Samuels was declared the winner.
Samuels, 40, originally of Mangakino in the central North Island but based in Southland or Australia for many years, won by 1253 points from runner-up and Riverton shearer Casey Bailey, who was in the final for the first time.
Southland veteran Nathan Stratford, in his 12th Golden Shears Open final, finished fourth.
The last South Island shearer to win the Open was Edsel Forde, of Southland, in 1989.
Among those in the crowd of about 1000 was Alexandra great Brian "Snow" Quinn, who won the Golden Shears Open title six times between 1965 and 1972.
Stratford won a third national shearing circuit final, with just a 0.355 points margin to Samuels in second place, in another Southland quinella.
Samuels and Stratford teamed up with Marlborough shearer Angus Moore in an all-South Island win over Australians Daniel McIntyre, Nathan Meaney and Josh Bone in the transtasman test. It was Stratford’s last test, so for Samuels a proud moment to celebrate the win with his mentor.
It also gave New Zealand a 2-0 weekend, after woolhandlers Tia Potae and Cushla Abraham won their match against the Australian woolhandling team of Marlene Whittle and Alexander Scholl on Friday night.
Gabriel Winders, of Invercargill, was runner-up in the senior finals. Southlander Nathan Bee finished first on time but dropped to third overall after the judging.
The junior woolhandling title was won by Lucy Elers, of Mataura.
— Staff reporter
