More than 200 competitors flocked to the capital of merino wool to take part in one of the world’s only fine-wool shows.
Event president Lane McSkimming, of Alexandra, said the show winners were some of the "best in the world".
Palmerston-based veteran shearer Chris Vickers, 56, has been shearing since he was 17 after starting out on his father’s farm at Kaitangata before they moved to Shag Point.
He has had his eyes on this prize since he started competing.
"It was a very good night ... I’ve been wanting to win it for quite a few years now," he said.
Vickers’ win secures his place in the Shearing Sports New Zealand team for this month’s transtasman test at the Western Australian shearing hub of Katanning.
Katanning is less than 60km from Wagin, where he first started shearing in Australia as a 20-year-old for his uncle, David Iles.
Vickers’ first win was in a transtasman test where he won a place in the annual home-and-away series. Soon after, he registered an individual show win in Tasmania.
He said competing was where he had learned the most about shearing.
"You’re just learning, whether it’s a little bit of footwork, whether it’s something about your gear, whether it’s something mentally, face-to-face blows, you’re learning off someone else."
Vickers said the merino wool shorn at the Alexandra show was "white gold" by the most skilled shearers there were.
He gave credit to the contributing farmers.
"What farms are doing with the wool these days is pretty impressive."
When asked about the secret to his success, Vickers said, "just keep working".
However, the shearing industry culture had changed in his 40 years as a shearer.
"It used to be work hard, play hard, now it’s more play hard and work ... well not so much."
Highly regarded in his field, Vickers said the camaraderie was a big part of what he loved about competitive shearing.
Vickers said he enjoyed the travel aspect and had competed three times in the United States, in Sardinia, Spain, Australia and this country.
"I always have accommodation because I can stay with one of my mates anywhere I go.
"In the shearing industry we’re not all enemies, we’re all mates and comrades ... and we’re always helping each other out, even though we’re competing against each other," he said.
Growing up north of Shag Point, Vickers said he was attracted to shearing from an early age.
Learning to shear with his father, he was mesmerised by watching "the greatest" shearers of the land including Keith Wilson, who holds the unofficial world record for shearing 871 sheep in one day, in December 1999.
"I was about 7 or 8 ... and I was just mesmerised by them.
"They made it look so easy, so efficient, and they did quite well ... He’s probably one of the greatest shearers in New Zealand."
