November 15, 2025

Defending champion Jack Fagan won his third Heartland Bank New Zealand Corriedale Shearing Championships title in four years today, beating Dannevirke-based Scotsman Gavin Mutch in a pulsating final at the Royal Canterbury A&P Show.

Mutch set a frenetic pace in the final, finishing his 10 sheep almost a minute ahead of Fagan, before being relegated to second place on penalty points. (Final scores are assessed on a combination of speed and quality.)  

“He (Mutch) took off very quick from the start and I couldn’t reel him in, so I settled in and did the job and got the win today, so I’m pretty rapt,” Fagan said. “There’s nothing like being first off and taking the win, and to win on quality is always a bit harder. There’s a bit of prestige in being the fastest shearer, but today to hold the quality for the whole final and come away with the win still feels pretty good.”

Fagan captured his first-ever South Island title back in 2022 and said at the time he was “surprised” to win on Corriedales, sheep he rarely shears. “It’s becoming a good habit. I think a lot of it comes down to gear selection on Corriedales. With Marble Point station (the sheep suppliers), they’re the only really big Corriedale-producing farm in New Zealand and we’re lucky they put them up for the show and we can all come down and try our luck on them. And, for me, it’s getting better and better each year. That’s shearing, you can’t beat experience.”

Local shearer Hugh de Lacy (jnr), at home after a season in Ireland, had his best-ever Corriedales result finishing fourth.

The women’s event was won for the second year in a row by Laura Bradley of Woodville who produced both the fastest and cleanest shear to win from Emma Martin and Ariana Te Whata.

The show was hit by a dramatic storm mid-afternoon, with hail and thunder sending crowds scattering, but organisers remained upbeat. “It (shearing) is always one of my favourite events at the show,” said Sir David Carter, chairman of the Canterbury A&P Association. “When I go into the pavilion there’s always a significant crowd, shoulder to shoulder. It’s always one of the more successful events we have at the show.”

Carter is keen to see the Corriedales continue to grow. “It’d be great if we could see competitors coming from other countries and to have a truly international shearing competition at the show,” he said.

Shearing committee chairman Jonathan Carden-Holdstock was equally positive.  “We’ve had challenging weather, but when you look across the whole show there’s a real buzz and we’re going to build on that. Having Heartland Bank on board is absolutely critical and we need a big, big sponsors like that to keep this thing going. The costs for running these events is just getting more and more. To put these events on is absolutely huge, so having people from Heartland Bank here is great and they’ve been great to work with.”

Heartland Bank Rural Manager Karen Cartwright echoed the views of much of the crowd. “Spectacular,” she said. “The standard and quality of the shearing by both women and men is amazing and we’re pleased to be part of it. We’re here because Heartland is very much involved in New Zealand rural life and this event reiterates that. Wool has long been part of life here and just such a natural fit with Heartland’s overall sustainability policy.”

Full results: https://www.facebook.com/canterburyshears/