Jamie Skiffington will have to shear one lamb every 37 seconds to break the record. Photo / Ariana Aspinall.
Jamie Skiffington will have to shear one lamb every 37 seconds to break the record. Photo / Ariana Aspinall.
Bay of Plenty shearer and former professional squash hopeful Jamie Skiffington is looking well primed for a solo world record attempt in which he will need to shear a lamb every 37 seconds.
The target for Monday’s nine-hour strong wool lamb record attempt at Waewaepa Station, near Dannevirke, is the 872 shorn by English shearer Stu Connor at Trefranck Farm, Cornwall, on July 28, 2021.
Skiffington will need an hourly average of at least 97, or about 37 seconds for 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-hour ewe and lamb records holder Rodney Sutton, Skiffington is quite capable of giving it “a nudge”, with a personal best of 913 in a work-day blowout five years ago.
“No matter who’s going for this record it’s going to be a big day for everyone,” Sutton said, referring to the large team helping in and around the woolshed trying to get Skiffington 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 said it was much different shearing under the watch of four World Sheep Shearing Records Society judges, who had the authority to reject or discard lambs not shorn up to the required quality standards.
Sutton knows his stuff, he has shorn 1103 in a woolshed blow-out and set an official record of 839 in December 2000.
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.
The categories range from solo to eight-stand tallies, on lambs, ewes or wethers, and on strong wool 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.
The modified shearing stand in the woolshed at Waewaepa Station.
Record-holder Connor, who now lives in Hawke’s Bay and plans 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-hour record two years earlier.
Bell will be on the clock alongside Skiffington throughout the day.
Others on board include Southern Hawke’s Bay farmer and former World and Golden Shears Champion, Scotsman Gavin Mutch, and Whanganui farmer and shearer Alan Goss, who hosted and managed a two-stand eight-hour record set by son Simon and Skiffington two years ago.
The lambs are primarily open-faced romneys, sourced mainly from more than 5000 ewe lambs on a property carrying about 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, 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.
Meanwhile, Jamie Skiffington will attempt to set a new solo nine-hour world lamb shearing record on Monday, January 20, at Waewaepa, 1593 Waitahora Road, Dannevirke.
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-noon, 1pm-2.45pm and 3.15pm-5pm.
