World Shearing Record Attempt In Hawke's Bay

The target is 872 at a lamb every half-minute or so for nine hours

Bay of Plenty shearer and former professional squash hopeful Jamie Skiffington is looking well primed for a solo World nine-hour strongwool lambs record attempt in which he will need to average about half-a-minute per lamb.

The target for the attempt on Monday at Waewaepa Station, near Dannevirke, is the 872 shorn by English shearer Stu Connor at Trefranck Farm, Cornwall, on July 28, 2021.

He will need an hourly average of at least 97, or about 37 seconds a lamb caught, shorn and despatched, including about five seconds between sheep and the time taken to change cutters on his handpiece at regular intervals during the day.

He’s trained well, and dieted for two years, and according to contractor, mentor and former solo nine-hours ewes and lambs records holder Rodney Sutton is quite capable of giving it “a nudge”, with a personal best of 913 in a work-day blow-out five years ago.

“No matter who’s going for this record it’s going to be a big day for everyone,” he said, as he took a mental note of who’s in the large team helping in and around the woolshed trying to get their man across the line on the day. “It’s not to be taken lightly, but he’s going to give it a bit of a nudge.”

Although the blow-out in 2020 was two seconds a lamb quicker than the target for Monday, Sutton, who has shorn 1103 in a woolshed blow-out and shore an official record of 839 in December 2000, says it’s much different shearing under the watch of four World Sheep Shearing Records Society judges, who have the authority to reject or discard any lambs not shorn up to the required quality standards.

It’s one of the two most revered men’s records among more than 40 currently recognised by the society, shorn by men or women, over the standard work days of eight and nine hours, from solo to eight-stand tallies, on lambs, ewes or wethers, and on strongwool or the fine wool of merinos.

It’s only the third attempt on the record in New Zealand since Hawke’s Bay shearer Dion King shore 866 in a King Country woolshed in January 2007. It was whipped out of New Zealand's grasp when Irishman Ivan Scott shore 867 in Cornwall in 2016.

Record-holder Connor, who now lives in Hawke’s Bay and was also planning to be at Waewaepa on Monday, shore runs of 193 in the two hours from the 5am start to breakfast at 7am, and 1hr 45min tallies of 168, 171, 172 and 168 to pass the target shortly before the end at 5pm.

A strong team of helpers is lined-up, including Weber farmer and trainer Justin Bell, who shore a record of 851 in December 2004, having set an eight-hours record two years earlier. Bell will be on the clock alongside Skiffington throughout the day.

Others on board include Southern Hawke’s Bay farmer, former World and Golden Shears champion and Scotsman Gavin Mutch, and Whanganui farmer and shearer Alan Goss, who hosted and managed a two-stand eight hours record set by son Simon and Skiffington two years ago.

The lambs are primarily open-faced romneys, sourced mainly from over 5000 ewe lambs on a property that carries approximately 28,000 stock units on 3200 hectares effective.

The refereeing panel will be convened by Australia-based Steve Potaka-Osborne, originally from Whanganui, joined by New Zealand officials Bart Hadfield, Neil Fagan, and Robert McLaren, who will on Sunday oversee a pre-record wool-weigh in which a sample shear of 20 lambs must average at least 0.9kg of wool a head for the record bid to go ahead.

They are also responsible for approving the working conditions, with modifications having to be made to the stand to be suitable for the attempt, in what is otherwise an eight-stand closed-board woolshed.

Sutton expects no issues with the wool weight on lambs which will weigh an average of about 24kg each expected to be “beautiful combing” in keeping with what he has experienced in many years of shearing the station’s sheep.

No rain is expected in the area over the weekend and MetService forecasts partly cloudy weather with easterlies on the day and temperatures up to 19C.

FACTBOX: Jamie Skiffington will attempt to set a new solo nine-hours World lamb shearing record o Monday, January 20, at Waewaepa, 1593 Waitahora Road, Dannnevirke. The record is 872, and the attempt takes place in five runs, separated by breaks for breakfast, morning and afternoon tea and lunch. The runs are 5am-7am, 8am-9.45am, 10.15am-oon, 1pm-2.45pm, 3.15pm-5pm. The event will be live-streamed at https://bidr.co.nz/shearing-record-attempt?fbclid=IwY2xjawH2bbBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHUF2qCxxyW7VNRVXiUHz_HButIB-kYAjdX6QnjIefDuV3itKxsbVYr9zRg_aem_aRziQbfcHn1WatgpPSYKOA

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