Dannevirke shearer’s ‘trip of a lifetime’

Gavin Mutch with his dog Tip back in Dannevirke after winning an open shearing competition in Spain.

When Gavin Mutch was invited to an open shearing competition in Spain, he figured it was a good chance to have a bit of a holiday.

It was a trip he’d been asked to do for a while by the owner of a shearing supply business in Spain.

“He’d seen me compete in the world champs in France and quite a few of the other ones,” Gavin says.

With his flights and accommodation covered, he left New Zealand for five days in Spain.

Gavin, who is from Scotland, came out to New Zealand about 25 years ago where he now lives full-time.

He says when he first started in Scotland, he was often told that if he wanted to get better in shearing, he needed to come to New Zealand.

“It just leapfrogs you so much further ahead in a short space of time.”

That training must have helped as Gavin won the open competition in the Spanish shearing championships.

The competitors were shearing merinos, which he says was “out of my comfort zone a little bit”, but it was as much a mental test.

“They were really good shearing merinos, which made it a little bit easier for me, but it certainly wasn’t a case of going there for an easy win.”

Gavin was up against some fierce competition with the Spanish champion, Manuel María Calvo Almena, who had won six years in a row.

Gavin Mutch with Spanish shearing champion Manuel María Calvo AlmenaAlmena at the open shearing competition in Casturea, Spain.

“He lifted his game as well. It was actually really good for him to shear beside me and you saw how much determination he had to compete too.”

Gavin says the quality of the shearing was very high with competitors being judged both on speed and on quality.

“I was quite impressed,” he says.

Spain was “unbelievable”. Gavin flew into Barcelona where they then had an 800km drive to the town of Casturea.

“It was kind of right through the heart of rural Spain.”

On the way, they stopped at a few cafes where he met “some really nice people” and once they got to the town, he says they were “treated like royalty”.

The area where the competition was taking place was very traditional and the people only spoke Spanish, but fortunately Gavin’s host, Josep, was able to translate for him.

The visitors were also taken to see a bullfight in town which he says was an “unbelievable atmosphere”.

After the competition, there was a 10-hour drive back to a town an hour north of Barcelona, where they were able to tour around before returning to Barcelona.

Gavin Mutch in action at a previous competition in New Zealand. Photo / Doug Laing

Shearing is something Gavin enjoys.

“There’s not many jobs you can work hard all day but train for your sport as well.”

He says the competition also helps keep the interest in the shearing side of things.

“You’re always trying to improve. You’re always learning.”

Shearing has also taken him around the world, with Spain being the 12th country he’s competed in.

“It’s a bucket list sort of thing,” he says, adding that he’d like to see what other countries he can go to.

Going to Spain was a “trip of a lifetime” and he feels fortunate to be given the opportunity.

Last year, he went to America for shearing training.

“Mentally it was the best thing for me,” he says, adding that he learned the basics again.

“You never stop learning.”

Leanne Warr has been editor of the Bush Telegraph since May 2023 and a journalist since 1996. She rejoined NZME in June 2021.