Kyle Balme, left, with father and Agrodome Shears open winner Digger Balme, and the other placegetters Forde Alexander, Justin Meikle, Lionel Taumata and James Ruki.
NEW Zealand shearing veteran Digger Balme has marked a 40th season in open class shearing by successfully defending the Agrodome Shears Open title at the Rotorua A and P Show last Saturday.
Balme is originally from Tahuna, north of Morrinsville, but was based in Tuakau, south of Pukekohe, when he entered the top class in the 1986-1987 summer and had his first open win at Kaikohe that season.
Now long-based near Otorohanga, in King Country, he last year clocked-up his own 60th year, and passed the handpiece over 13,000 sheep, possibly the reason he’s still capable of mixing it with the best, even sons of former competition shearing mates.
According to a former fellow finalist from the 1980s, Apiti shearing judge Russell Knight, who was also commentating on Saturday during Balme’s absence from the microphone to shear the five-man final of 20 sheep each: “He’s still shearing.”
Digger Balme on his way to winning the Agrodome Shears open final on Saturday. Photo – Des Williams, Shearing Magazine.
But for Balme, it’s more personal, knowing how much autistic son Kyle loves the shows, his heroes, and the chance to get up on stage when dad’s collecting a ribbon.
“The biggest joy I get is taking Kyle,” he said.
“He also loves the people that look after him when I’m shearing, or on the microphone.
“When you see something like that it really touches your heart. I don’t go to the shows to win.”
But, long known for a tearaway approach, Balme held it together well on Stand 1 in the five-man final. The focus seemed to be on Taumarunui shearer and 2024 Golden Shears and New Zealand Shears senior champion Forde Alexander at the other end of the board and whether he could claim his first open win, in just his second season in the grade.
Shearing the 20 sheep in 18 minutes 54.4 seconds, Alexander was first to finish, beating Balme by just 3.1 seconds, but the veteran nailed it with the best quality points, including the judging in the pens, to beat Alexander by 2.895pts.
Third was Justin Meikle, of Oamaru, Gore-based Lionel Taumata, from Taumarunui, was fourth, and fifth was Piopio shearer James Ruki, who won the Rotorua intermediate title in 1998, when Balme won the open title for the first time.
Balme has had at least 85 open wins
Saturday’s win started a scramble through the history. Shearing Sports New Zealand has maintained collated results nationally since only the 1992-1992 season, when shearing competitions emerged. Based on some material available from previous years, Balme has had at least 85 open class wins in New Zealand, Australia and the UK, in an era when world and Golden Shears champions Sir David Fagan, Paul Avery, John Kirkpatrick and Rowland Smith have amassed well over 1000 between them.
Balme has reached nine Golden Shears Open finals, with a best of second place to 16-times winner Fagan in 1998, and having been in a New Zealand team to the UK in 1992 got closest to a world championships chance when third in 2003, falling short by just 0.65 points when the first two went through, and then won the world teams title in Scotland.
In 1999, he also set a world eight hour strong wool lambs record of 621, during a three-stand record in a King Country record, and has since become a go-to for crews at other record attempts, as venue commentator and presenter, including live-streaming from the Golden Shears, as well as becoming a certified judge.
Napier shearer Kaivah Cooper continued a sequence of wins in his first season in the senior grade, Meikle’s son, Tye Meikle, won the intermediate final, and the junior final was won by young Irish shearer Sean Dunne, who was pen-boy for Balme in the open final.
The open wool handling final was won by Vinniye Phillips, of Taumarunui, beating six-times Rotorua winner Keryn Herbert, of Te Kuiti.
It was the first win of the season for Phillips, the 2024 Golden Shears senior champion who made an immediate impression last summer with three wins in the open class, and fourth place in the Golden Shears Open final. Ana Braddick, of Eketahuna, was third, and Lucas Broughton, of Gisborne, was fourth.
The senior wool handling title was won by Te Whetu Brown, from Wairoa – her fourth win in the grade – and Paige Marshall, of Kihikihi, scored a second Rotorua junior final win.
The show attracted 45 shearers (open 8, senior 11, intermediate 14, junior 12) and 27 wool handlers (open 11, senior 7, junior 9).
The next competitions in the North Island are on the weekend of January 17-18.
RESULTS from the Agrodome Rotorua A and P shearing and woohandling championships at Ngongotaha on Saturday, December 6, 2025:
Shearing
Open final (20 sheep): Digger Balme (Otorohanga) 18m 57.6s, 63.53pts, 1; Forde Alexander (Taumarunui) 18m 54.5s, 66.425ptd, 2; Justin Meikle (Oamaru) 19m 24.6s, 66.48pts, 3; Lionel Taumata (Taumarunui/Gore) 20m 59.4s, 72.52pts, 4; James Ruki (Piopio) 21m 53.8s, 74.24pts, 5.
Senior final (12 sheep): Kaivah Cooper (Napier) 13m 52.3s, 51.4483pts, 1; Callum Bosley (England/Otorohanga) 14m 24.2s, 53.1267pts, 2; Ryka Swann (Wairoa) 14m 37s, 53.2667pts, 3; Emma Martin (Gore) 17m 26.7s, 58.5017pts, 4; Dalton Tangiwai (Pahiatua) 17m 51.9s, 59.9283pts, 5.
Intermediate final (8 sheep): Tye Meikle (Oamaru) 10m 0.9s, 36.795pts, 1; Marshall Buckman (Apiti) 10m 33.5s, 39.8pts, 2; Paddy Hudson (Hokonui) 10m 42.9s, 39.89.5s, 3; Sonya Fagan (Te Kuiti) 10m 58.2s, 42.91pts, 4; Riley Norman (Eketahuna) 12m 35s, 44.875pts, 5.
Junior final (5 sheep): Sean Dunne (Wicklow, Ireland) 9m 51.2s, 33.16pts, 1; Cam Henson (Woodville) 10m 49.9s, 39.895pts, 2; Chloe Bingham (Port Waikato) 11m 54.4s, 42.52pts, 3; Deakin Mullins-Henry (Dannevirke) 10m 48.6s, 43.83pts, 4; Ilan Hughes (Machynlleth, Wales) 11m 3.3s, 44.565pts, 5.
Wool handling
Open final: Vinniye Phillips (Taumarunui) 31.19pts, 1; Keryn Herbert (Te Kuiti) 34.606pts, 2; Anna Braddick (Eketahuna) 35.19pts, 3; Lucas Broughton (Gisborne) 78.938pts, 4.
Senior final: Te Whetu Brown (Wairoa/Napier) 52.03pts, Laura Bradley (Papatawa) 63.22pts, 2; Sonya Fagan (Te Kuiti) 63.97pts, 3; Emma Martin (Gore) 72.6pts, 4.
Junior final: Paige Marshall (Kihikihi) 41.66pts, 1; Chloe Bingham (Port Waikato) 42.766pts, 2; Miracle Waikato (Flaxmere) 43.488pts, 3; Zamal Ropiha (Hastings) 82.37pts, 4.
Henderson gets one back on Fagan in Whangarei
Toa Henderson, pictured in his Golden Shears Open win in Masterton nine months ago. Photo – Pete Nikolaison.
New Zealand 2025 UK tour members Toa Henderson and Jack Fagan staged an early-summer reunion to take centre stage at the Whangarei A and P Show on Monday, the first shearing competitions in Northland for the 2025-2026 season.
Entries were light, as usual in the north, with just 21 shearers across five grades, and one way or another one of the pair was always going to finish second, but the showdown was still a popular watch at the one-day show at Barge Showgrounds, with Henderson out for revenge after being beaten by Fagan in the event last year.
It was Henderson, the local hero, the 2025 Golden Shears, New Zealand Shears and Royal Welsh Open champion, who came out on top shearing 20 lambs in the three-man final in 12m 54s, beating Te Kuiti shearer Fagan by 33 seconds.
Also claiming the best shearing points on the board, with Fagan the best in the pens, Henderson won by 1.15 points overall, with third place, as was the case last year, going to Northland lifestyle blocks shearer Phil Wedd, based in Silverdale, who, despite the comparative spectator role, described it as an “awesome” final.
Tommy Stevenson, of Dargaville, successfully defended the senior title, shearing the 12 lambs in 12m 59s and claiming victory 1.89pts over Dargaville shearer Michael Boyd, who had the better quality points.
The open had eight entries, senior seven, and the intermediate, junior and novice two each, with five in the veterans event.
Fagan got his payback in the open speed event with a time of 18.78s, while Henderson shore 20.46s, and Paul Hodges shore 23.32s for third place. Stevenson won the senior speed shear.
Whangarei is one of two shows on the last day of the pre-Christmas Shearing Sports New Zealand season and the first of the six Northland A ad P show shearing championships this summer. Others are: January 17, Kaikohe; February 7, North Kaipara, at Paparoa; February 14, Northern Wairoa, at Arapohue (Dargaville); February 21, North Hokianga, at Broadwood; March 14, Kumeu; March 21, Warkworth.
RESULTS from the Whangarei A and P Show Shears at Barge Showgrounds on Saturday, December 6, 2025:
Open final (20 lambs): Toa Henderson (Kaiwaka) 12m 54s, 50.2pts, 1; Jack Fagan (Te Kuiti) 13m 27s, 51.35pts, 2; Phil Wedd (Silverdale) 16m 10s, 60.7pts, 3.
Senior final (12 lambs): Tommy Stevenson (Ruawai) 12m 55s, 48.58pts, 1; Michael Boyd (Dargaville) 14m 13s, 50.47pts, 2; Lee Cheyne (Te Kauwhata) 17m 25s, 62.67pts, 3.
Wow, that Des Williams is a legend. Where does he get all that info from – stats, placings etc ? His books are excellent as well. Long may King Des reign.