IT was a final that could rival any other across the world when three Scots and a New Zealander took to the stage at Lochearnhead Shears, on Saturday, for the annual Blackface sheep shearing competition. 
Considered one of the highlights of the Scottish sheep shearing calendar, this year’s event certainly didn’t disappoint the large crowd that gathered to watch the fast and furious pace of the four finalists that are all previous winners here – Johnny Kirkpatrick, Hamish Mitchell, Simon Bedwell and Gavin Mutch. 
The race to set the fastest time changed on several occasions as Hamish, who was out to retain his 2015 title, and Gavin, who was looking to continue his winning run from the Highland where he won both the open and the Scottish National, were blow for blow for the majority of the 20 hoggs in the pen, with Simon roughly half a sheep behind and Johnny trailing by another half sheep.
In the end, only 0.550 points split the two but it was Hamish’s lower score in the pen (for the number of nicks and cuts on the sheep) of 10.400 that combined with 1.800 on the board (for technique) to give him a total of 53.500 and his seventh Lochearnhead win. This compared to Gavin’s 54.050 for second place having picked up 1.350 on the board and 11.850 in the pen. 
Simon may have finished more than a minute behind winner Hamish, but he was the cleanest on the board with 0.850 and totalled 55.700 while four times winner of the Golden Shears, Johnny, had the tidiest pen score of 9.000 which added to a pen score of 1.600 to total 57.200.
The blade final was another international affair when two Welsh shearers, Elfed Jackson and Gareth Owen, took on the father and son duo from New Zealand, Alan and Phil Oldfield. With Elfed out to win another Lochearnhead title, he set the pace to finish his four hoggs in eight minutes and 33 seconds, but it was the New Zealander duo that kept the quality up to pick up first and second. Edging the lead here having scored the lowest of 26.250 in the pen and 4.000 on the board to total 58.000 on his Lochearnhead debut was 25-year-old Alan.
Father Phil was clean on the board with 1.750 to pick up second place followed by Elfed in third and Gareth in fourth. 
Elsewhere, Stuart Davidson led the senior section to take his first Lochearnhead win in the senior section to continue his winning streak from Lesmahagow, Northumberland and Balmoral shows before he moves up to the open section next year. 
Proving the girls are every bit as good as the lads, the intermediate section was headed up by Caithness lass Helga Sinclair, followed by Emily Te Kapa in second while earlier on among the juniors it was Ciaran McNulty who took the lead to win the red sash.
Leanne Bertram had plenty to celebrate too, adding the wool handling title to her extensive haul of tickets from both Lochearnhead and the Highland, while Audrey Lamb picked up second place.

See this week's issue of The Scottish Farmer, out July 9, for the full report and results from Lochearnhead Shears.