Te Kuiti shearer Jack Fagan realised another dream when he won the Canterbury Shears' New Zealand Corriedale Open shearing championship at the NZ Agricultural Show in Christchurch on Friday.
The victory in a six-man final over 14 sheep each was his biggest of 13 show wins in eight years of open-class shearing, his first in the South Island, and got the family name back on to the honours board, after 13 wins in the event by father Sir David Fagan spanning 25 years from 1984.
With almost seven weeks gone in the 2022-2023 Shearing Sports New Zealand season, the 12 open finals have now produced nine different winners, with five of them in the final at the Canterbury Shears.
Fagan has never shorn the coarse-woolled corriedales at work but looked comfortable in the final which he shore in 17min 4.75sec, second off the board behind only 2020 winner, Southern Hawke's Bay farmer, Scotland international and former world and Golden Shears champion Gavin Mutch (16min 46.53sec).
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But ultimately the biggest hurdle to overcome was the quality of reigning PGG Wrightson Vetmed National Shearing Circuit champion and Invercargill shearer Nathan Stratford, who finished in 18min 39.1sec and whose 4.36pts advantage in judging on the board and in the pens was not quite enough to overcome the time-points deficit and take the title for a fourth time.
Fagan beat Stratford by just 0.37pts, with Mutch third a further 0.8pts away.
Fagan had been just 11th in the heats, which doubled as the third round of the national circuit and which were headed by Marlborough shearer Angus Moore. Stratford claimed only seventh-place points from the heats but leads the series after maximum points in the first two rounds at Alexandra and Waimate.
The winner remained in the South Island to win the Waiau Rugby Club Speedshear in North Canterbury on Saturday, his 48th win in the short-form of shearing sports, but will shear the Taranaki Shears at the Stratford A&P Show on November 26, and is also working on the fitness ahead of a December 22 attempt on the eight-hour strongwool lambshearing record of 744, set by Irish shearer Ivan Scott near Taupo almost 11 years ago.
His 13 show wins highlights the commitment of shearers in show competition, some never winning, regarding such things as reaching the Golden Shears Top 30 as the dream, and yet considered among the best shearers in the world.
Fagan's shorn in about 160 open competitions, his best previous win having been in the Royal Welsh Open final in 2015, before he had won an open final in New Zealand.
In July this year he won the show's international Speedshear.
"It's the thrill of competing," he said. "For years you get your ass kicked then one massive win makes up for it all. I get a buzz out of shearing against the top competitors in the world."
RESULTS NZ Corriedale Shearing Championships at Christchurch (November 11).
Open final (14 sheep): Jack Fagan (Te Kuiti) 17min 4.75sec, 65.09pts, 1; Nathan Stratford (Invercargill) 18min 39.1sec, 65.46pts, 2; Gavin Mutch (Scotland/Dannevirke) 16min 46.53sec, 66.26pts, 3; Hemi Braddick (Eketahuna) 17min 49.16sec, 66.6pts, 4; Hugh De Lacy (Rangiora) 18min 50.69sec, 69.53pts, 5; Brett Roberts (Mataura) 19min 4.36sec, 75.22pts, 6.
Open plate (10 sheep): Matene Mason (Masterton) 13min 33.68sec, 51.68pts, 1; Toko Hapuku (Methven) 15min 6.47sec, 54.72pts, 2; Lionel Taumata (Gore) 14min 36.93sec, 56.95pts, 3.
Senior final (8 sheep): Alex Clapham (England) 15min 28.69sec, 61.18pts, 1; Blake Crooks (Timaru) 15min 33.44sec, 62.42pts, 2; Adam Gordon (Masterton) 15min 25.38sec, 65.42pts, 3.
Intermediate final (5 sheep): Will Sinclair (Balclutha) 12min 17.28sec, 50.26pts, 1; Jesse Sullivan (Harihari) 12min 24.93sec, 51.85pts, 2; Dre Roberts (Mataura) 12min 44.56sec, 53.03pts, 3..
Junior final (3 sheep): Lydia Thomson (Rangiora) 10min 30.44sec, 41.52pts, 1; Emma Martin (Gore) 10min 32.03sec, 42.27pts, 2; Caleb Brooking (Gore) 9min 59.44sec, 43.64pts, 3.
Women's final (4 sheep): Sarah Hewson (Blenheim) 8min 58.35sec, 36.92pts, 1; Emma Martin (Gore) 12min 22.25sec, 43.11pts, 2; Lydia Thomson (Rangiora) 13min 32.82sec, 52.39pts, 3.
Blades final (5 sheep): Mike McConnell (Albury) 16min 57.13sec, 58.06pts, 1; Allen Gemmell (Loburn) 16min 21.81sec, 59.09pts, 2; Allan Oldfield (Geraldine/Lower Hutt) 16min 50.57sec, 59.93pts, 3.
