Veteran shearing champion David Fagan attributes his 16th Golden Shears competition win on Saturday night to secret training.
The win, his first in five years, came 23 years after his first triumph.
The 47-year-old from Te Kuiti says training does not take up as much time nowadays, but it remains crucial.
He says he has no plans to retire from competitive shearing.
He won the title 12 times in a row from 1990 to 2001.
Mr Fagan beat five other contestants, including world champion Paul Avery of Stratford, Dion King of Napier, and Taranaki-based Gavin Mutch.
He won the national last year, for the eighth time, but did not contest the series this year.
