The Southern Series
Sport with purpose
The Southern Series is helping to take the sport of sheep shearing to a new, global audience as part of the growing push to promote wool as the best, most sustainable alternative to synthetic fibres. The wool industry is united in its recognition of the need for an ongoing campaign to boost the awareness of wool’s environmental ‘soft footprint’.
A repeatable series of sporting events creates a repeatable platform to tell that story.
Frew makes a Peninsula point
From Shearing Sports New Zealand
January 12, 2026
Just four-hundredths of a point separated the first two placegetters as a big Shearing Sports New Zealand season resumed with the Peninsula Duvauchelle Shears on Banks Peninsula on Saturday.
Regaining a title he won for the first time in 2023, Pleasant Point contractor Ant Frew thought it would be runner-up for a third time in a row after Rangiora shearer Hugh de Lacy (jnr) shore his 12 sheep in just over 11 minutes to be first off the board by almost 46 seconds, a time advantage worth 2.29 points.
Frew told Shearing Sports New Zealand he knew he had had a good shear and thought it would be close, but didn’t reckon it would be enough, until the result was announced, with best points in both board and pen judging and a penalties score of 41.08 to de Lacy 41.12.
The two were well clear of 2022 winner and New Zealand-based Chilean shearer Luis Pincol, on 44.72pts, with fourth place going to Liam Norrie of Cheviot.
With temperatures about 32 centigrade and demands of the shearing season in the woolshed keeping some competitors away, the Peninsula Shears attracted 25 entries, with 10 in the open class event.
Open final (12 sheep): Ant Frew (Pleasant Point) 12m 4.91s, 41.08pts, 1; Hugh de Lacy (Rangiora) 11m 19.12s, 41.12pts, 2; Luis Pincol (Chile) 13m 24.41s, 44.72pts, 3; Liam Norrie (Cheviot) 15m 51.78s, 55.67pts, 4.
Ant Frew
The show goes on
“There was a time when most New Zealanders claimed at least some distant rural connection, with a relative or friend toiling to make a living from agriculture…”
See more here from filmaker John Sellwood on his Telling Lives website or check out his wrap from the Royal A&P Show of New Zealand here.
John Sellwood takes a look at the Royal A&P Show
Fagan fashions a quality win
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/
Corriedale Champion, again, Jack Fagan
Corriedale Champion, again, Laura Bradley
Mutch faster: Gavin Mutch (second in the Heartland Corriedale Champs) outpaces the rest of the field.
Some good news stories
Royal boost for Corriedales
By Hugh de Lacy (snr)
November 5, 2025
Entries are pouring in for the Heartland Bank New Zealand Corriedale Shearing Championships, a feature event of the 2025 Canterbury Royal Show on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, November 13-15, at the Christchurch Showgrounds.
Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association (CAPA) chairman Sir David Carter says the promising shearing competition entries reflect the huge jump this year, in those for the various livestock groups following the show’s acquiring “Royal” status. “We’re absolutely thrilled with the entries – over 700 in the sheep section and around 380 each in the dairy cattle sections,” Sir David said.
“We’re also making a special feature of wool this year: we’re setting up a designated Wool Zone in a marquee that will stage fashion shows, along with a range of other exhibits, and this will be a natural complement to the shearing competitions going on nearby.” (Story continues here)
Live coverage on Shedtalk
By Hugh de Lacy (snr)
October 24, 2025
It’s coming up on ten years since Cushla and Paerata Abraham, frustrated at the shortage of up-to-the-minute shearing and wool-handling news, launched their Facebook site Shedtalk, featuring live coverage of shearing events. (For more on Shedtalk’s streaming, and other offerings, click here)
The Corriedales are coming
Cushla Abraham
Paerata Abraham
Meikle gets 2025 under way with Duvauchelle win
January 11, 2025
North Otago farmer Justin Meikle has won the 2025 Peninsula Shear at Duvauchelle, in a double for the family.
Despite having more than 20 years on each of his three fellow finalists, Meikle was first to finish the 12-sheep open final, in 11 minutes 28 seconds. He beat 2023 Duvauchelle champion Ant Frew by 41 seconds, and 1.05 points on the scoresheet with Rakaia’s Alex Smith third, and fourth was first-year Open shearer and former national No 1-ranked Intermediate and Senior shearer Blake Crooks, of Rangiora.
It was a father-and-son act, with Justin’s son Tye first to finish the three sheep of the Junior final, shorn in 6min 58s, beating Holly Holmes-Crombie, from Te Anau. It was the sixth win of the season for Meikle Jnr, having also won in Ashburton, Stratford and Whangarei.
The Duvauchelle show, is traditionally the first event of the year after the five-week Christmas break for the traditionally busiest weeks of the year in the woolshed.
Open shearing winner Justin Meikle (left), runner-up Ant Frew, third-placed Alex Smith, Blake Crooks (fourth), North Canterbury shearer Dave Brooker and Peninsula local Shaun Burgess. Photo / Shearing Sports New Zealand
Fagan on top in Christchurch
November 16, 2024
Te Kūiti shearer Jack Fagan powered past a quality field at the New Zealand Corriedale Championships on Friday (November 15) to win his second Christchurch Show title in two years. Fagan, the 2022 winner, barely scraped into the semi-finals as the last qualifier, but showed his class from there.
Fagan was the fastest finisher in the final, ahead of Scotland’s Gavin Mutch and also produced one of the cleanest shears of the night.
“That was an awesome final. Great field, a really strong final today. The sheep were probably a bit trickier than normal today, but I managed to pull it off and it feels amazing,” Fagan said. “Having your gear running is very important on these (sheep) as they’re quite fine in the wool so I’m pretty happy.”
Open champion Jack Fagan.
Women’s champion Laura Bradley.
Bradley breaks new ground
November 16, 2024
It was a North Island sweep of the major prizes at the New Zealand Corriedale Championships on Friday (November 15), with Tararua shearer Laura Bradley winning the inaugural Corriedale women’s event. “It’s awesome,” she said. “Considering I wasn’t even going to come down until Sunday, it was short notice, I’m really proud of myself and of all the other women.”
It was a double celebration from Bradley who also won the (open mixed) competition for senior grade shearers. “Times are changing,” she said. “Women may not be able to shear as many sheep, but the quality of the shearing and the work is a lot higher I reckon.”
Something about that arena (part ii)
November 16, 2024
Canterbury Shears NZ Corriedale Shearing & Woolhandling Champs organising committee chairman Jonathan Carden-Holdstock has been involved with the Christchurch Show (in its various manifestations) for a number of years. This is his first foray into shearing and he clearly is relishing the experience.
Shearing chairman Jonathan Carden-Holdstock.
There’s something about the shearing in that arena
Competition gets under way at this year’s Christchurch Show tomorrow (November 14) with the Canterbury Shears NZ Corriedale Shearing & Woolhandling Champs. The feature event, the Open Machine Shears, takes place on Friday the 15th with the final scheduled for late afternoon.
It will be excitement as usual. “There’s something about the shearing in that arena – it’s something that Christchurch has to itself,” says Jonathan Carden-Holdstock, chairman of the shearing committee.
“When you walk into the amphitheatre it’s electric, the whole thing. You’ve got the time-keepers, the shearers, the noise of the audience, and the closer you get to the final the cheers get louder. The shearing is the sleeping giant of the show.”
In the news
Wool is in the news, again, as any internet search will show. This, from The Guardian, aligns very much with the ‘horror’ video above. And, as 2023 Peninsula Shears champion Ant Frew says, the time for renewable resources is long overdue.
The Southern Series is dedicated to the ‘soft footprint’ of wool. Keep an eye on this space for more.
Ant Frew at the Duvauchelle Show.
Duvauchelle first for Taumata
January 13, 2024
Southland shearer Lionel Taumata won his first-ever open title today at the Peninsula Shears at the Duvauchelle A&P Show, the first shearing event in New Zealand for 2024.
“I’m ecstatic, it’s unreal,” Taumata said. “Ant Frew is here and he’s a real good open shearer so it was good to get my first win. It was definitely no gimme.”
Taumata beat Frew, local veteran Shaun Burgess and the up-and-coming Brayden Clifford in the four-stand final.
The win gave the man sometimes dubbed ‘the King of the Speed Shears’ the perfect start to what will be a busy schedule over the next few weeks. “I’ve got the Lumsden shears and Winton shears on Friday and Saturday and there’ll be three speed shears on that same weekend,” Taumata said, “so yeah it’s a good way to start the year.”
Defending champion Frew was also happy with his first outing of the year. “A few nerves at the start as always, but it’s good to get the first one out and get a good score on the board,” he said before the final. “I’ve been coming here for three or four years and it’s a good show nice and small. Defending a title, it’s pretty hard, really mentally so we’ll see what happens.”
Taumata was the only shearer to take less than a minute per sheep in the four-man final.
Burgess, Clifford, Frew (and Frew minor) with first-time Open winner Taumata.
Local wool, global solution
At the Duvauchelle show in January we caught up with Ian Robinson of the Banks Peninsula Wool Growers who talked about many things including the Duvauchelle event, the shearing competition and the absurdity of synthetic carpets in schools. And, how farmers on the Peninsula have come together to effect change.
Check out the video or for more info go to www.bankspeninsulafarms.com
Quality time ahead on the Peninsula
January 8, 2024
The Southern Series (TSS) is heading to Banks Peninsula and the Duvauchelle Agricultural and Pastoral (A&P) show on Saturday January 13 for the first event of 2024.
Troy Pyper
Luis Pincol
The Duvauchelle crowd
Ant Frew
The Duvauchelle show’s shearing section has a history of producing quality champions, including Sir David Fagan in 2014 and, in more recent times, Troy Pyper (2019-20-21), Chilean Louis Pincol in 2022 and, last year, Ant Frew.
“It’s only a four-stand event, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less exciting and there’s usually a great crowd,” says TSS Event Manager Hugh de Lacy (snr).
“And, of course Banks Peninsula is hill country, a bit like the central North Island, so the sheep are open-faced and clean-pointed strongwool types; not a Corriedale in sight — we promise.
“We’re hoping to see 2022 Banks Peninsula champion Luis Pincol back again after really starting to make his presence felt in the open ranks in the past couple of years. Luis shears mostly in South Canterbury where he’s lived for years, but his Chilean background definitely brings an international flavour to the event.”
Duvauchelle A&P President James Dwyer calls it the “biggest little show in the country”, with the bonus of being located in the heart of one of New Zealand’s prime tourist destinations. “It’s a beautiful location; hills, water, fishing, boating, dolphins. Magical.” For the shearers, Dwyer says, “it’s a chance to clear out the cobwebs after a good solid Christmas and New Year”.
The show will also provide the first part of two Canterbury “book-ends” to the TSS year, along with the New Zealand Corriedale Championships at the New Zealand A&P show in Christchurch in November.
