King Country shearers Jack Fagan and Clay Harris have wrapped up a busy season in the UK by each winning two finals in a series of back-to-back competitions at different venues in England and Wales.
Treading the trails followed by father Sir David Fagan 30-40 years ago and having finished runner-up to new World champion Gwion Lloyd Evans at Cothi on July 22, fifth in the Royal Welsh Open four days later and then won the Corwen Shears Open final on July 29, started a succession of four competitions in four days as part of a double King Country hit at the Burwarton Show last Thursday.
The next day Fagan was runner-up to veteran Welsh international Gareth Daniel at the Bro Ddyfi Shears, and his biggest triumph of the new week was at the Brecon County Show on Saturday, shearing a 20-lambs final in 13min 35sec, a minute and 50 seconds quicker than the second man off the board.
It enabled him to claim victory by 0.9 points from whistle-clean Welsh shearer Richard Jones, who won the World individual title in France in 2019 and the teams title in Scotland on June 25.
On Sunday, the last show before heading home, to shear in Central Otago, represent shearers as a delegate at the Shearing Sports New Zealand annual meeting and ultimately head back to Te Kuiti, Fagan was third to Jones and Daniel at the Cneifo Bont Shears, at Pafiliwn Pontrhydfendigaid.
Fagan, who last October won the New Zealand Corriedale Championships in Christchurch and then in January won the NZ Crossbred Lambs title at Winton, and in between shore a World record of 754 lams in eight hours, said it was pleasing have made the finals of the all the lambshearing contests he had entered this season in the UK.
But the most prized victory was at Corwen, where the title had in the past been won by his father, uncle John Fagan, and cousin James Fagan.
Meanwhile, Piopio shearer Harris, who had 10 Senior wins in New Zealand last season including the big four of the Otago Shears, Southern Shears, Golden Shears and New Zealand Shears, won at the Burwarton and Bro Ddyfi competitions on Thursday and Friday, and was runner-up on Saturday at Oswestry.
He said he will work in Australia before returning to New Zealand and his first season competing in the Open-class.
Meanwhile, young Patea shearer Blake Mirchell, who in just his third competition won the Corwen Junior final a fortnight ago, was fourth last week at Bro Ddyfi and won a Junior event at the Berhesda Speedshear on Saturday.