Supafly And Fellow Flyers Tackle Shearing Record

A speedshear king who commonly shears sheep at under 25 seconds each in competition is now looking for a bit of moderation as he joins two long-time shearing mates to tackle a World record in a Manawatu-Whanganui woolshed tomorrow (Wednesday).

Jimmy Samuels, known as “Supafly” and who has won over 70 single-sheep speedshear competitions, will join Shane Ratima and Akuhata (Aku) Waihape on Wednesday in an attempt on the World three-stands, eight hours crossbred lambshearing record of 1976, at Ferndale Station, in Turakina Valley Rd, between state highways 1 and 4 and about 100km north of Palmerston North.

The current record was set by Cole L’Huillier (677), Kaleb Foote (6n67) and Daniel Langlands (632) at Puketiti Station, near Piopio, on December 23, 2019.

It broke a record of 1825 set in 2017 by Welsh shearers Matthew Evans and Delwyn Jones and New Zealand shearer Ryan Miller, also in the King Country, breaking a record of 1784 shorn in 1999 by King Country shearers Digger Balme, Roger Neil, and Dean Ball.

More than 2000 lambs from Ferndale have been drafted for the attempt that starts at 7am with four two-hours and breaks for morning and afternoon tea and lunch through to the end at 5pm. A nearby property has 400-600 more available if necessary.

Samuels has shorn speedshear sheep in as quick as 15.35 seconds in New Zealand, 16.78 seconds in Australia, and who has also won in Wales, with prizes as big as $A20,000, and said: “I’m hoping to settle into a rhythm early on and try and build on that. If I can put the first one out in under 32 seconds I’ll be stoked.”

He has worked for Hunterville contractor and New Zealand Shearing Contractors Association executive committee member Ratima for about four years, and grew-up with Waihape around Tuatapere, in Southland, where they started their shearing careers.

The helpers come from nga hau e wha, with Samuels having West Australia-based merinos record holder Floyd Neil (son of 1999 record breaker Roger Neil) on the clock and cousin and well-performed Open-class woolhandler Logan Kamura as his rousie.

Ratima has daughter Brenna as his woolhandler with former three-stand ewes record-holder Luke Mullins at his side, and Waihape has sister Lucy Elers, of Mataura, as his woolhandler, with Chas Tohiariki, also from Southland, monitoring the time.

Samuels, brother of Golden Shears and New Zealand Shears Open finals winner and four-stand lambs record holder Leon Samuels, had lined-up for a 9hrs crossbred lambs(50 per cent merino) record in West Australia last year, but it was called-off with a sample shear on the eve of the event unable to meet the minimum required average wool weight. They shore the lambs anyway, Samuels finishing with 650 for the day.

An average of 0.9kg a lamb will be needed in another sample shear today (Tuesday) to enable the attempt to go ahead before judges Mark Fox, of England, and New Zealand officials Robert McLaren, Alistair Emslie, Ronnie King, Donald Johnston, and Bart Hadfield.

Samuels last shore a speedshear at the Matiere Cosmopolitan Club in King Country on November 29, but has no particular plans for any more in the near future, after a busy seven months shearing and chasing the speedshears in New Zealand, Australia and the UK.

A father of four, he said: “I’m gonna take a break for a while from all competition shearing and just focus on family. I think I owe them some quality time.”

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