Champion shearer Rowland Smith has added his eighth Golden Shears title to his cv by shearing his 20 sheep in 16 minutes to defeat the other five finalists. The Hawkes Bay farmer who shears part time took time out from repairing his Marae Kakaho sheep farm to win the title in Masterton at the weekend. He calls the Golden Shears the Goldies and says finely tuned preparation is the key to competing when you are not shearing full time.
Rowland Smith will now represent New Zealand at the 2023 Golden Shears World Shearing and Wool handling Championships in Scotland in June. And he will be up against his brother, Matt Smith who will be representing England.
Smith claimed his victory by more than three points from runner-up, Marlborough shearer Angus Moore. Joel Henare, from Motueka, won a ninth-consecutive Golden Shears open wool handling title with a wide margin from runner-up Keryn Herbert of Te Kuiti.