Napier shearer John Kirkpatrick has succeeded in defending his title at the New Zealand open shearing and woolhandling competition at Te Kuiti at the weekend.
The win follows a disappointing run at last month's Golden Shears competition for the 38-year-old, who was eliminated before the final after a cut was found on one of the animals.
But at the weekend Kirkpatrick not only picked up points for the cleanest job, but he also secured the fastest time, at 13 minutes 47 seconds.
This was enough to beat runner-up, shearing legend David Fagan, by 1.7 points.
Taihape schoolteacher Sheree Alabaster, 34, won the top spot in the open wool handling contest, her second win since beating fellow New Zealander Joanne Kumeroa in the World Championships in Norway six months ago.
Alabaster finished with a comfortable margin of almost 30 points ahead of second-place winner Tina Rimene of Masterton.
