January 31, 2011. 5.30pm

Shearing record bid cancelled

A World eight-hour lamb shearing record bid which was to have been made in a woolshed near Taupo this week has been cancelled after organisers were unable to guarantee enough suitable lambs at the late stage of the season. The attempt, announced just last week, was to have been made on Thursday by New Zealand-based Irish shearer Ivan Scott, who held the record at 736 for two years.

He was out to regain the record from 2010 Golden Shears and World champion Cam Ferguson who set a new mark of 742 three weeks ago. World Sheep Shearing Records Society secretary Hugh McCarroll, of Tauranga, said no further record attempts are expected in New Zealand this season, after a flurry of five bids which saw three records broken.

The first success was on December 22 when King Country shearer Stacey Te Huia shore a solo eight hour ewes record of 603, shorn on December 22, and Fergsuon's record on January 10 was followed 24 hours later by a two-stand ewes record of 1066 in eight hours by brothers Doug and Rowland Smith, from Ruawai in the Far North.

ENDS