GOLDEN SHEARS NUMBER TWO FOR AVERY By Des Williams Stratford's Paul Avery etched his name further into shearing's hall of fame with his second Golden Shears open championship victory at Masterton on Saturday night. Having won the title for the first time in 2005, Avery had to watch Dion King of Napier claim the glory last year, but came to the Wairarapa this year determined to make amends. The 40-year-old farmer-shearer waged a titanic struggle over 20 sheep with Napier's John Kirkpatrick and 15-times former champion, David Fagan before claiming the fabled purple ribbon by a fraction of a point from Kirkpatrick, who had broken Fagan's decade-long stranglehold on the crown in 2002. Shearing before a sellout crowd at Masterton's War Memorial Stadium, Avery gained a slender lead over Fagan and Kirkpatrick after five sheep and had the rest of the field playing catch-up until his 13th woolly Romney, when he seemed to falter in his quest. Avery admitted later he'd wondered if his fitness would see him through, but gained his second wind in time to polish off the last five sheep in grand style. He emptied his pen in 17 minutes flat, two seconds ahead of Kirkpatrick and claimed a small quality bonus to clinch the title. David Fagan won the PGG Wrightson national championship for the eighth time in his long career and then watched his nephew, James Fagan, lead the New Zealand team to victory over Australia in the biannual trans-Tasman contest. As a member of the team that lost the first leg of the rubber to Australia at Hay, NSW, last October, James Fagan produced an inspired display with team mates, Nathan Stratford and Dion King, to beat an Australian trio that included present world champion, Shannon Warnest. The prized Golden Shears open woolhandling championship went to Huia Whyte-Puna of Christchurch, who produced an accomplished all-round display to beat local favourite, George Hawkins of Masterton. Results: Golden Shears, Masterton, 1/2/3 March 2007 Golden Shears open (20 sheep): Paul Avery, Stratford, 60.062 1; John Kirkpatrick, 60.622 2; David Fagan, Te Kuiti, 60.639 3; Nathan Stratford, Invercargill, 65.7 4; Dig Balme, Te Kuiti, 65.9 5; Alton Devery, Tuatapere, 66.5 6. PGG Wrightson National (15 multi-breeds): David Fagan, Te Kuiti, 65.3 1; Tony Coster, Te Kuiti, 67.5 2; Darin Forde, Winton, 69.5 3; Nathan Stratford, Invercargill, 69.6 4; James Fagan, Te Kuiti, 70.2 5; Gavin Mutch, Whangamomona, 70.3 6.  Senior (10 sheep): Angus Moore, Ward, 44.2 1; Emily Welch, Waikaretu, 46.9 2; Douglas Smith, Ruawai, 47.9 3; Whetu Henderson, Kaiwaka, 52.0 4; Adam Berry, England, 50.1 5; James Ritchie, Napier, 53.3 6. Intermediate (8 sheep): Lindsay Brown, Gisborne, 41.1 1; Maaka Rangiwai, Mataura, 42.5 2; Cole L’Huillier, Te Akau, 42.5 3; Stewart Smith, Mataura, 43.2 4; Zeb Aporo, Masterton, 45.4 5; Tipene Te Whaiti, Napier, 53.4 6. Junior (5 sheep): Philip Rangiwai, Mataura, 35.9 1; Shelford Wilcox, Gisborne, 36.5 2; Aaron Haynes, Feilding, 37.1 3; Mark Grainger, Te Kuiti, 37.3 4; David Hape, Dannevirke, 38.9 5; Hamuera Reedy, Ruatoria, 40.7 6. YFC open: Adam Brausch, Dannevirke, 36.9 1; David Buick, Pahiatua, 37.3 2; Corey Salmond, Balclutha, 44.8 3; Mark Buick, Masterton, 45.3 5; Neil Fagan, Te Kuiti, 47.3 5; Bevan Holm, Dannevirke, 46.9 dq 6. Trans-Tasman test (12 sheep): New Zealand (James Fagan, Dion King, Nathan Stratford) 213.661 penalties, beat Australia (Shannon Warnest, Ross Thompson and Carl Goodman) 230.445 2. Maori/Pakeha shearing; Dean Ball and David Buick, 66.3 1; Choppa Waihape and Alan MacDonald, 70.1 2; Stacey Te Huia and Tony Coster, 75.5 3.  Woolhandling Open: Huia Whyte-Puna, Christchurch, 203.5 1; George Hawkins, Masterton, 234.7 2; Joel Henare, Gisborne, 242.8 3; Waimiere Peneha, Masterton, 336.1 4. NIWHY: Joanne Kumeroa, Wanganui, 98.8 1; Hayley Holm, Dannevirke, 152.4 2; Sheree Alabaster, Taihape, 162.4 3; Angelique Gage, Christchurch, 167.0 4. Senior: Aleisha Atkinson, Eketahuna, 186.0 1; Betty Nicho, Martinborough, 189.9 2; Jodene Reid, Ashhurst, 194.8 3; Vance Brown, Martinborough, 230.4 4. NIWHY: Jodene Reid, Palmerston North, 183.6 1; Ngawai Tau, Dannevirke, 187.5 2; Talia Holm, Dannevirke, 218.9 3; Rochee Collier, Opotiki, 275.8 4. Junior: Larnie Morrell, Masterton, 207.7 1; Ratapu Paikea, Kaiwaka, 217.5 2; Amber Collier, Opotiki, 225.2 3; Jayanna Manakau, Dannevirke, 226.2 4. NIWHY: Angela Aldridge, Te Kuiti, 153.8 1; Amber Collier, Opotiki, 171.0 2; Kiri Gerretzen, Palmerston North, 174.0 3; Aria Mullins, Dannevirke, 174.4 4.  Trans-Tasman test: New Zealand (Sheree Alabaster and Chelsea Collier) 642.3 penalties, beat Australia (Sarah Lannan and Mandy Symons) 801.8. Woolpressing Mens’ singles: Jeremy Goodger, Masterton, 67.7 1; Lee Paku, Masterton, 73.9, 2; Ben Traill, Eketahuna, 3. Mens’ pairs: Warrick Goodger and Jeremy Goodger, Masterton, 36.6, 1; Joe Metekingi, Pahiatua, and Lee Paku, Masterton, 47.8 2; Steve McGinity, Bulls, and Lee Clayton, Marton, 3. Womens’ singles: Fiona Christensen, Masterton, 91.3 1; Paula Puhara, Masterton, 99.2 2; Hine Biddle, Masterton, 3. Triathlon (shearing, pressing, woolhandling): Lui Paewai, Dannevirke, 244.74 1; Anthony Peeti, Marton, 249.1 2; Kiri Gerretzen, Palmerston North, 256.9 3; George Hawkins, Masterton, 257.0 4; Kerri-Jo Te Huia, Te Kuiti, 261.9 5; Warrick Goodger, Masterton, 276.3 6. Des Williams Shearing magazine Last Side Publishing Ltd Box 102, Hamilton, New Zealand Tel 0274 833 465 : fax 07 839 2893 "I'm a drinker with a writing problem." (Brendan Behan)