A tall order as shearing pair challenge ewes record

A big week of shearing in the central North Island kicks-off on Tuesday (January 10) with an attack on a record set six years ago by Northland and Hawke’s Bay gun Rowland Smith on the road to becoming one of the World’s greatest shearers.

The two-stand eight-hours ewes record of 1066 set by Smith and brother Doug Smith on January 11, 2011, at a time when Rowland Smith had won just five Open titles in what is now a career of 90 wins in 10 seasons in the top class, including the 2014 World title, four New Zealand Championships Open titles and three wins in the Golden Shears Open final.

The record, being shorn at Te Hape, east of State Highway 30 township Benneydale, will be tackled by Coel L’Huillier, of Te Akau, and Kelvin Walker, of Taumarunui, neither of whom has won at Open or Senior competition level in New Zealand.

But different skill sets are needed in the record-breaking environment and the two do have what it takes, according to Waikaretu shearing contractor Sam Welch, a World two-stand nine-hours record holder who is managing the record bid with wife and women’s nine-hour lambs record holder Emily.

L’Huillier has, however, had records experience, in a gang including Sam Welch establishing a since-broken five-stand lambs record for eight hours in December 2013.

Both L’Hullier and Walker will have to lift their games to beat the record in which Rowland Smith shore 562 ewes and Doug Smith 504 at Waitara Station, between Napier and Taupo. Rowland Smith averaged a ewe every 51.25 seconds – caught, shorn and dispatched.

Welch knows the Te Hape ewes well, having shorn 667 when he and multiple record breaker Stacey Te Huia shore a two-stand nine-hour record of 1341 at the trust-owned station in January 2012.

“They are a good even line,” he said today, as both shearers were “resting-up” before arriving at the shed tomorrow (Monday) for final preparations, which include a wool-weigh in which sample sheep shorn before World Sheep Shearing Records Society judges Dave Brooker, from South Australia, South Island members Paul Harris and John Fraser, North Island member Bart Hadfield, and Welsh visitor Arwyn Jones must average at least 3kg of wool a sheep.

Welch expects the requirement to be met easily but as for targets on the day: “We’ve picked from a flock of 1800, knocked that down to 1500, and they’ll shear a few on Monday. They were on record pace last week on the second-grade sheep last week, but they only want the record. Anything more than that is a bonus.”

The following day at Mangapehi, west of Benneydale and also on SH30,, Welsh shearers Delwyn Jones and Matthew Evans and New Zealand gun Ryan Miller will tackle a three-stand eight hours lambs record of 1784 set 18 years ago, while on Friday the first North Island Speedshear Championship will be held at Te Kuiti’s Waitete Rugby Club, the club of former All Blacks great Sir Colin Meads.
Both records start at 7am, and comprise four two-hour runs, separated by morning and afternoon “smoko” breaks of 30 minutes each and an hour for lunch, and are scheduled to end at 5pm.
ENDS

© Scoop Media