The Wools of New Zealand Shearing Sports New Zealand team will be defending a proud Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling record when this year’s championships take place at the Royal Highland Show in Scotland this week.

This is the 19th event since the first was held as a shearing-only event to mark the 200th anniversary of the Royal Bath and West Show in England in 1977 and on the back of the success of the Golden Shears International Shearing Championships, held annually in Masterton since 1961.

This year’s championships were originally intended to mark the 200th anniversary of the Royal Highland Show last year but had to be postponed because of the global pandemic.

Twenty-nine countries are competing at this year’s championships.

The New Zealand team comprises machine shearers Rowland Smith, of Maraekakaho, and Leon Samuels, of Roxburgh, blades shearers Allan Oldfield, from Fairlie but now living in the Hutt Valley, and Tony Dobbs, of Fairlie, and woolhandlers Candy Hiri, of Gore, and Ngaio Hanson, of Eketahuna.

New Zealand has dominated the machine shearing, having won the individual title 12 of the 18 times it has been contested to date, including five wins by David Fagan (now Sir David Fagan), and six other shearers, including Smith’s win in Ireland in 2014.

It has also won the (two-man) machine shearing teams title 13 times, with Fagan having shared the honour seven times, with seven different teammates.

New Zealand has also dominated the woolhandling, with seven of the 11 titles since woolhandling was added to the programme in 1988, and all but one of the eight teams’ titles since the teams’ event was added in 2000.

Blades shearing was contested in 1980 and 1988, but only with New Zealand competitors, and the event was dominated by African shearers from when it became international in 1996 until the last championships in France four years ago - when Oldfield won the individual title and teamed with Dodds to win the teams event.

Altogether seven countries have claimed titles, with New Zealand winning 43, South Africa 10 (all blades shearing), Australia 6, Scotland, Wales and Lesotho 5 each, and England 1.

The Wools of New Zealand Shearing Sports New Zealand team for the 19th Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships at the Royal Highland Show, in Scotland, on June 22-25. Photo / Supplied

This year’s championships start on Thursday, with the first two days confined mainly to Royal Highland Show titles which are mainly open to all-comers.

The first world event will be late on Friday (Saturday morning New Zealand time) when 59 shearers in Round 1 of three rounds in the machine shearing.

The rest of the World Championships competition will take place on Saturday and Sunday.

Golden Shears World Shearing and Woolhandling Championships winners (by nation)

Machine Shearing – Individual:

New Zealand (12 wins): 1977 Roger Cox, 1980 Brian “Snow” Quinn, 1988 David Fagan; 1992 David Fagan; 1994 Alan McDonald; 1996 David Fagan; 1998 David Fagan; 2003 David Fagan; 2008 Paul Avery; 2010 Cam Ferguson; 2014 Rowland Smith; 2017 John Kirkpatrick.

Scotland (2 wins): 1984 Tom Wilson, 2012 Gavin Mutch.

Australia (3 wins): 1986 Mark Conlan, 2000 Shannon Warnest, 2005 Shannon Warnest.

Wales (1 win): 2019 Richard Jones.

Machine Shearing – Teams:

New Zealand (13 wins): 1977 Godfrey Bowen/Roger Cox; 1980 Martin Ngataki/Brian Quinn); 1984 (John Fagan/Colin King; 1986 David Fagan/Rick Pivac; 1988 Stephen Dodds, David Fagan; 1992 David Fagan, Kevin Walsh; 1994 David Fagan, Alan McDonald; 1998 Paul Avery, David Fagan; 2003 Dean Ball, David Fagan; 2008 Paul Avery, John Kirkpatrick; 2010 David Fagan, Cam Ferguson; 2012 Cam Ferguson, John Kirkpatrick; 2017 John Kirkpatrick, Nathan Stratford.

Scotland (3 wins): 1996 George Bayne, Tom Wilson; 2014 Hamish Mitchell, Gavin Mutch; 2019 Calum Shaw, Gavin Mutch.

Australia (2 wins): 2000 Ross Thompson, Shannon Warnest; 2005 Daniel McIntyre, Shannon Warnest.

Blades Shearing – Individual:

New Zealand (3 wins): 1980 (NZ only) Peter Casserly; 1988 (NZ only) Tony Dobbs; 2019 Allan Oldfield.

Lesotho (4 wins): 1996 Zingisele Elliot Ntsombo; 2003 Zingisele Elliot Ntsombo; 2005 Zingisele Elliot Ntsombo; 2010 Zingisele Elliot Ntsombo.

South Africa (6 wins): 1998 Zweliwile Elias Hans; 2000 Zweliwile Elias Hans; 2008 Zweliwile Elias Hans; 2012 Zweliwil Elias Hans; 2014 Mayenseke Shweni; 2017 Mayenseke Shweni.

Blades Shearing – Teams:

Lesotho (1 win): 2008 Sokosele Doba, Piet Sekete.

South Africa (4 wins): 2010 Bangani Joel, Mayenseke Shweni; 2012 Zweliwile Elias Hans, Mayenseke Shweni; 2014 Zweliwile Elias Hans, Mayenseke Shweni; 2017 Zweliwile Elias Hans, Mayenseke Shweni.

New Zealand (1 win): 2019: Tony Dobbs, Allan Oldfield.

Woolhandling – Individual:

New Zealand (7 wins): 1988 Susan Puhipuhi; 1996 Patrick Shelford; 2003 Joanne Kumeroa; 2005 Joanne Kumeroa; 2008 Sheree Alabaster; 2012 Joel Henare; 2017 Joel Henare.

Wales (3 wins): 1998 Angharad Mair Lewis; 2010 Bronwen Tango; 2019 Aled Jones.

Australia (1 win): 2000 Aroha Garvin.

England (1 win): 2014 Hilary Bond

Woolhandling – Teams:

New Zealand (7 wins): 2000 Leanne Peeti, Tina Rimene; 2005 Joanne Kumeroa, Tina Rimene; 2008 Sheree Alabaster, Joannne Kumeroa; 2010 Sheree Alabaster, Keryn Herbert. 2012 Joel Henare, Joanne Kumeroa; 2017 Maryanne Baty, Joel Henare; 2019 Sheree Alabaster, Pagan Karauria.

Wales (1 win): 2014 Meinir Evans, Aled Jones.