Just when you started to get over the mix-up at this year’s Oscars for the award for best picture, an equally turbulent presentation took place in the shearing pavilion at the Balmoral Show last week.

At the final day of the show on Saturday, Jack Robinson from Claudy in Co Derry was announced as the winner of the open class in the Royal Ulster International Shearing Championship.

During the presentation, record-breaking shearer Ivan Scott from Kilmacrennan, Co Donegal, ran his eye over the scorecards and realised that he was in fact the overall winner.

Competitive shearing enthusiasts among you will know that it is not just the time taken for shearing that decides who wins, but also factored in are points awarded by judges for the cleanliness of the clip, which takes into account residuals on the fleece and cuts on the sheep.

Scott had finished shearing almost a minute ahead of his competitors and was in a good position to question the tallying up of times as scores by judges for cleanliness cannot be appealed by shearers.

The Donegal man was then deemed correct and was later presented with the cup for the open class and the £500 prize.

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