A Southland shearer today became the first female to win the New Zealand Shears Junior shearing championship in Te Kuiti in 13 years since what has become one of the more memorable of Junior shearing wins – because of who won it.
The 27-year-old Emma Martin, the only female in a six-shearer final over 5 sheep each, was treading in the moccasin-steps of 2010 winner Sarah Goss, who was the first to win a New Zealand Shears shearing title in Te Kuiti and is now known as champion Olympic gold medal Sevens and Women’s Rugby World Cup winning captain Sarah Hirini.
Only one other female has won any of the five New Zealand Shears titles, being Ariana Hadfield, who won the Novice title in 2017.
None have yet won the Intermediate, Senior or Open titles.
Despite the travelling, Martin has competed in 14 competitions this season, with one more to go at the Mackenzie A and P Show in Fairlie on April 10.
It’s almost a third of the shows on the Shearing Sports New Zealand Calendar, with a goal now of finishing the season having qualified for the finals at all of the shows in which she’s competed, and with a sixth win.
Having won national full-wool title events at Waimate and Lumsden in the South Island, she’s proven more than up to it in the second-shear competitions of the North Island.
She was second at Taumarunui, fourth at Apiti and won at Pahiatua on successive days at the end of February, and was fourth at the Golden Shears a week later, before returning to the South Island and making the Adaptive North Canterbury-Marlborough Development Circuit team her return north for the big event in King Country.
Northern Hawke’s Bay shearer Coby Lambert, from Raupunga, was first off the board in the final, shearing the five sheep in just under 7min 30sec, with Sam Parker, of Raglan, and Martin, each just over eight minutes.
But with the best quality on the shearing board and on the sheep in the pens afterwards, Martin claimed victory by a comfortable margin of almost three points from eventual runner-up Lambert, with Cody Waihape, also of Gore, claiming third place overall.
Meanwhile, another Alabaster from Taihape has found his way onto the New Zealand Shears honours board with victory in today’s Novice Shearing final.
Trent Alabaster, 17, who left Whanganui Collegiate last September to start a shearing career, is cousin of lambshearing record breaker and 2018 New Zealand Shears Junior champion Reuben Alabaster, nephew of former World woolhandling champion and multiple New Zealand Shears Open woolhandling champion Sheree Alabaster.
They all continue a competition shearing heritage starting with Sheree’s father, the late Ray Alabaster, who shore at the first Golden Shears in 1961 and multiple Golden Shears Open finals, without winning the big title.
Trent Alabaster had shorn finals in four previous novice events for second at Taihape in January, and wins at Aria, Apiti and Pahiatua.
He won today’s final by 0.518pts from Sam Fletcher, from Mount Maunganui, with third place going to Kaivah Cooper, of Napier, who had the fastest time of 5min 27.57sec.
RESULTS of finals on the second day of the New Zealand Shears shearing and woolhandling championships being held in Te Kuiti on Thursday-Friday, March 30-April 1, 2023:
Shearing:
Junior final (5 sheep): Emma Martin (Gore) 8min 3.39sec, 30.37pts, 1; Coby Lambert (Raupunga) 7min 29.78sec, 33.289pts, 2; Cody Waihape (Gore) 9min 0.46sec, 35.023pts, 3; Daniel Rogers (Raetihi) 8min 58.21sec, 35.311pts, 4; Ryka Swann (Wairoa) 8min 20.31sec, 37.016pts, 5; Sam Parker (Raglan) 8min 2.52sec, 37.126pts, 6.
Novice final (2 sheep): Trent Alabaster (Taihape) 6min 17.22aec, 28.861pts, 2; Sam Fletcher (Mount Maunganui) 5min 27.57sec, 29.379pts, 2; Kaivah Cooper (Napier) 6 min 10.96sec, 30.548pts, 3;Lamcolm Nahona (Kaiwaka) 8min 4.22sec, 34.711pts, 4; George Peacock (Dannevirke) 7min 4.13sec, 37.207pts, 5; Rebecca Dickson (Feilding) 8min 36.9sec, 41.845pts, 6.