About 100 spectators and competitors flocked to the Catlins Inn’s woolly warm-up to the Otago Shears and New Zealand Woolhandling Championships, contested up the road at Carterhope Estate the following Saturday.
Owaka’s top-gun in the Open contest was a close shave, Catlins cutter Tony McDonald taking the $1200 first prize at 23.56sec, just 0.32sec ahead of Milton’s Paul Lambert, while Taumarunui’s Taylor Te Ahuru took the Seniors section with a solid 27.25sec.
Muster of ceremonies and local lamb drafter Neville Gordon supplied blow-by-blow commentary of the action.
"The team event was probably the biggest crowd pleaser," he said.
"They had to eat a chilli pie and down a dodgy looking soft-drink as well as shear, and for that they had to use the old-fashioned hand-crank contraption."
The pie-scoffing, drink quaffing manual machine teams contest was won by Romahapa’s Chang Shearing, and the Farmer’s event for shearers of necessity was won by Owaka rookie Jake Watt.
With his eye on a close, thorough fleecing, he shore his sheep in a steady 41.37sec.
"There were plenty of townspeople and overseas shearers but it was a real treat for the tourists, too," official timekeeper Fiona Walker said. "A little French girl came over from the campground with her parents and others, and she was cheering and clapping everybody with her eyes wide open like it was the highlight of her holiday.
"It was really fun and went so smoothly. You’ve got to hand it to the Catlins Inn and all the sponsors for putting on a really popular and professionally run family event yet again."
