Welsh help break shearing record in New Zealand

January 11, 2017

Welsh help break shearing record in New Zealand

New lamb-shearing record

Two Welshmen have today become the first from their country break a World shearing record in New Zealand.

Te Kuiti-based Delwyn Jones and Matthew Evans, who arrived in New Zealand last month to prepare for the record bid, joined Ryan Miller, from Gore, in breaking the three-stand eight hours record for strongwool lambs.

Shearing at Mangapehi, off State Highway 30 between Te Kuiti and Benneydale, they shore 1825, adding 41 to the record, previously set at 1784 which was shorn by King Country shearers Digger Balmer, Roger Neil and Dean Ball 18 years ago.

The record bid of four two-hour runs began at 7am and ended at 5pm, with all three achieving the milestone of 600 lambs, despite five lambs being rejected by the World Sheep Shearing Records Society judges during the day.

Evans, from Swansea, topped the tallies with runs of 156, 154, 151 and 153 for a total of 614, Miller had runs of 157, 152, 149 and 151 for a total of 609, and Jones, from Corwen, shore 602 with runs of 150, 151, 150 and 151.
Needing an average of just over 446 a run, the trio had the record bid under control from an early stage amnd needed just 415 in the final run starting at 3pm.

The only other Nortthern Hemisphere shearer to have broken a shearing record in New Zealand is Ivan Scott, from Ireland.

Today’s record was the second shearing record broken in the Benneydale district in two days, with Coel L’Huillier, of Te Akau, and Kelvin Walker, of Taumarunui, having on Tuesday set a two-stand ewes record for eight hours.

Next Tuesday at Waitara Station, between Napier and Taupo, Luke Mullins, from Taihape, Eru Weeds, from Southland, and James Mack, from Waikato, attempt a three-stand ewes record that was establishedjust over a year ago.

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