Shearing record attack in first week of New Year

January 2, 2016

Shearing record attack in first week of New Year

Two attempts are to be made on World sheep shearing records this week.

The first will be on Tuesday when prolific records shearer Stacey Te Huia, of Te Kuiti but based mainly in Australia, will make his third attempt on the solo nine-hours strongwool ewe shearing record, regarded as the ultimate of shearing feats.

It will take place at Mangarata-Taratahi Ag Training Centre, Caves Rd, near Masterton, starting at 5am and finishing at 5pm, with an opening run of two hours followed by four of 1hr 45mins each, separate by standard woolshed meal and smoko breaks.

Te Huia will be hoping to get quickly onto an average of over 40 sheep a half-hour as he strives to break the record of 721 set by Hawke’s Bay shearer Rodney Sutton in a King Country Woolshed almost nine years ago, beating by just one the previous record of 720 shorn by Southland shearer Darin Forde in January 1997.

Last February in Australia Te Huia shore 530 merino ewes to break the record for finewool sheep. He is also the holder of the eight-hours strongwool record of 603 shorn near Bennydale in 2010, and with Waikaretu shearer Sam Welch the two-stand strongwool record of 1341, shorn three years ago and of which he contributed 674.

Te Huia’s two-attempts on the nine-hour strongwool record were abandoned midway through after it was agreed with World Sheep Shearing Records Society judges on-site that the target had become out of reach. In the first, Te Huia shore on for the sake of his supporters and workers and set a personal best of 703.

He first entered the record books as a 20-year-old when he and brother Hayden set a two-stand record at the end of 1999.

The second record attempt will be on Thursday at Carter’s farm, Sargents Rd, Te Kuiti, where Alexandra-based Ringakaha (Ringa) Paewai, King Country shearer Peter-lee Ratima and Canterbury gun Aidan Copp will attempt a three-stand lambs record for eight hours.

The record of 1784 was set by Richard (Digger) Balme, Roger Neil and Dean Ball at Te Hape, King Country, on January 8, 1999.

ENDS

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