Posted on 03/06/2012 9:36:12 PM PST by nickcarraway
John Kirkpatrick beat off competition from 25 countries to win the Golden Shears, sheep shearing's highest accolade.
The biennial event returned to New Zealand for the first time since 1996, and is seen as a homecoming by the sheep-shearing community.
Front row seats for the final in Masterton were taken by New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key and Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae.
Competitors in the Golden Shears event are judged on speed and accuracy in both machine and hand-blade cutting categories. Penalty points are given if shearing takes too long, as well as for "imperfections" that include nicks and cuts to the sheep and double cutting.
Winner John Kirkpatrick received NZ$3,000 (£1,565) in prize money. It was his fourth open championship win in 10 years.
"It's been a goal since I started shearing and to get my name on the trophy with the best in the world is unbelievable," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Aye.
That’s because of all the time they spend with sheep.
Scotland - where men are men...and sheep are nervous.
As a Scottish colleague once told me, there’s two things a Scot knows, and the other one is whisky...
So yer nae content tae torture the President, lad, an ye’ve terned yer attention tae the Scots, have ye?
I dinna kin what yer sayin’ but the Scots need nae attention.
Mebbe if th’ scots got some attention, they wooldnae practice sae much.
It’s a good thing Obama didn’t enter the sheep shearing contest or he’d have another trophy on the mantlepiece to go with his NOBEL Peace Prize.
[insert ridiculously heavy Scottish accent] Aye, ‘n’ there’ll never be another ewe!!!
You're right, of course. I believe he should have been awarded first place just because of the PROMISE of his prodigious shearing skills, donchaknow.
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