TAMBELLUP shearing legend Damien Boyle continued to make the Perth Royal Show open shearing competition his own on Saturday, winning for an unprecedented 24th time.
At age 45, the second oldest shearer in the open final's field of six after winning his preliminary heat, he admitted to being "stoked" with his latest show open win from 26 starts in the event.
Mr Boyle said he had won his first Royal Show open shearing competition at age 19 years and had first shorn at the Royal Show as a 13-year-old in the novice section and then as a 15-year-old in the under 21 section.
His father, champion shearer in his own right, shearer trainer, Royal Agricultural Society of WA (RASWA) shearing and woolhandling competition committee member and Western Australian Competition Shearing Association (WACSA) life member, Don Boyle, Broomehill, presented him with the winner's ribbon and perpetual trophy.
"If you count the times he entered as a young bloke in the novice and under 21 competitions and the open (at the Royal Show), he's won 27 out of 29 times," his proud father said.
It was a classic Boyle win, coming from behind on time to claim the win on the thoroughness and quality of his shearing of 10 big well-woolled sheep provided for the competition by Dowerin farmer Lindsay Hagboom who has supported the Royal Show shearing and woolhandling competitions and demonstrations in this way for many years.
For his first three sheep, Mr Boyle on stand two, went blow for blow with the fastest shearers, Ethan Harder on stand four and Kyle Newby next to him on stand one.
Then he eased off the pace slightly to concentrate on getting all of the wool off cleanly, while the other two much younger shearers continued to race each other and the next fastest, Richard Sturis on stand six.
Commentators Kevin Gellatly and Todd Wegner called the lead changing at least three times between those three shearers.
Mr Harder was first to finish his 10 sheep in a time of 19 minutes and 40 seconds, with Mr Newby just seven seconds behind and Mr Sturis a further 31 seconds back at 20 minutes and 18 seconds.
Mr Boyle finished in fourth place with a time of 20 minutes and 38 seconds, ahead of Tom Reed at 21 minutes and 16 seconds and oldest shearer in the final Mick Wood who is easing back into competition after a major operation earlier this year.
But the judges' board points incurred by each shearer hinted at the result to come, with Mr Boyle lowest on 16, Mr Reed next with 26, Mr Harder 27, Mr Sturis 32 and Mr Newby 51.
It was a similar story from the judges out the back who assessed each pen of shorn sheep for shearing quality and the amount of wool left on.
Again Mr Boyle accrued less points than the other compe- titors who shore more quickly.
His 83 pen points, compared to 118 for Mr Reed, 135 for Mr Harder, 154 for Mr Newby and 186 for Mr Sturis.
When the times, board and pen points - as well as extra points incurred by Mr Boyle, Mr Harder and Mr Sturis - were tallied, Mr Sturis came fifth with a points total of 97.700.
From fourth to second place, the points difference was very close, RASWA councillor in charge of the shearing and woolhandling competitions, Ken Walker, observed as he announced the results.
Fourth was Mr Harder with 80.200 points, third Mr Newby with 79.850 points and second Mr Reed with 78.200, leaving Mr Boyle a clear winner with 73.800 points.
"Being quick is only part of it (competition shearing), you still have to shear them (to get the wool off)," said Mr Boyle, who also won the open final quality points award.
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Earlier this month at the Koorda Shears, Mr Boyle came second to Luke Harding, Boyup Brook, who had beaten him into second place last year in the Royal Show open shearing competition.
However at the Dyson Jones Corrigin Shears the tables were turned with Mr Boyle beating Mr Harding into second place.
A showdown at the Royal Show between Mr Harding as defending champion and Mr Boyle as most prolific champion was dashed when Mr Harding injured his knee three days before the event.
He attended the show on crutches to support wife Jess who was competing in the open woolhandling competition, but she was knocked out in the heats.
The open woolhandling was eventually won by Janelle Hauiti, York, while French national Agathe Daigrement, also from York, won the senior woolhandling final and the boys beat the girls in the novice section, with George Burt and Frazer Sutherland placing first and second, ahead of Damien Boyle's daughter Abby and Charlotte Crossen.
In the intermediate shearing final, diminutive Danielle Mauger, Boyup Brook, shearing sheep twice her own bodyweight, beat a field of five young men.
In the novice shearing final, winner Ronan Crowe was presented with the Brian Beresford Shield by Kevin Gellatly and second place getter Stephen McCarthy won the encouragement award.
Mr Beresford who died in 2020 was a shearer and shearing contractor who gave many young shearers a learner's stand and Mr Gellatly was a friend who shore for him.
