World shearing record is all-go

Initial Release 21 Jan 2015
From Doug Laing, media officer, Shearing Sports New Zealand

Caption: Stacey Te Huia, of Te Kuiti, under way in his World record shearing bid today at Te Hape, east of Benneydale. The woolhandler is sister and fellow records shearer Kerri-Jo, and marking time is Waikaretu contractor and shearer Sam Welch.

An attack on the reputed toughest of all shearing records is all go after a judges’ inspection today of the sheep and the facilities at the King Country station where it all happens tomorrow(Thursday) starting at 5am

Record challenger Stacey Te Huia, of Te Kuiti, was on-hand for a crucial wool-weigh at Te Hape, on State Highway 30 east of Benneydale.

Shearing legend David Fagan and brother Neil, members of the large support crew shore, 10 sheep selected at random for the judges, producing a combined clip of 32kg – just exceeding the minimum allowable average of 3kg of wool per sheep.

Four judges, headed by Mark Baldwin, from Australia, are on hand to ensure quality is up to standard and rules are met during the day in which Te Huia must shear more than 721 strongwool ewes in nine hours, in a day split by breaks for breakfast, lunch and morning and afternoon tea, and ending at 5pm.

Te Huia needs to maintain a pace of at least 80 sheep an hour, and if he succeeds in breaking the record set by Southern Hawke’s Bay shearer Rodney Sutton in January 2007 will have produced well over two tonnes of wool from more than 43 tonnes of sheep hauled out of the pen, shorn and despatched through the porthole during the day.

UPDATE 7.57am
From Doug Laing, on behalf of Shearing Sports New Zealand
January 22, 2015

Shearing World Record – LATEST

Te Kuiti shearer Stacey Te Huia has had a tentative start to his bid for the record with a total off 155 in the first two hours from 7am to breakfast.

It was three less than the first run of 158 shorn by Rodney Sutton when he set the record of 721 on January 31, 2015, and six less than the record first run of 161 set by Southland shearer Darrin Forde when he set the previous record of 720.

Te Huia needs an average throughout the day of just over 80 of the perendale ewes per hour and while slightly off the pace in the first run from 5am to 7am chief judge Mark Baldwin, from Australia, said: “He’s doing well.”

Te Huia shore 14 in the last 10 minutes to the break and headed straight for the massage table before breakfast and resuming the challenge at8am, with a 1hr 45minute run to morning smoko at 9.45am.

About 30 people were in the Te Hape Trust woolshed east of Benneydale in the King Country when the record bid started. The weather was fine and expected to hot during most of the day.

ENDS