Te Huia stays on pace in merino record bid

Te Huia stays on pace in merino record bid

New Zealand shearer Stacey Te Huia is keeping just on morning-pace in his World merino shearing record bid in Australia.

Going to morning smoko in the nine-hour record bid northwest of Dubbo, Te Huia had 216 after three hours and 45 minutes, just before midday, Australia Eastern Time.

It compares with 215 by New Zealand-born Australia-based shearer Dwayne Blackat the same stage of his record 513 near Kojonup, in his home state of West Australia on April 6, 2005.

Starting at 7am, the 36-year-old Te Huia shore 113 of the soft rolling skin fine-wooled Poll merino ewes in the opening first run of two hours, to the late-breakfast break of one hour, and 103 in the next run, the first of four of 1hr 45mins each heading towards knock-off at 7pm (9pm NZDST).

Black’s last three runs were 98, 99, and 101, and Te Huia, who last month near the King Countyry town of Bennydale failed in his second bid to break the crossbred record of 721 in nine hours, has to up the hourly average from the current 56.6 to over 57 to break the record, in temperatures reaching well over 30deg.

The record bid is under the rules of the World Sheep Shearing Records Society which has appointed judges from Australia and New Zealand, with an observer from Wales.

It’s the first of two records being attempted in a major event for Australasian shearing at Parkdale, with Australian shearers Beau Guelfi and Bob White tomorrow tackling the two-stand record for eight hours set by Australia-based New Zealand brothers Cartwright and Michael-James Terry in 2003.

ENDS

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