Ewe lambs will be shorn in the Shear4U being held at Pukemiro Station this weekend. Photo / Paul Taylor
Ewe lambs will be shorn in the Shear4U being held at Pukemiro Station this weekend. Photo / Paul Taylor
Four local farmers are gearing up to raise money for charity by shearing ewe lambs.
Shear4U will involve the farmers shearing for a total of 24 hours. It is being held at Pukemiro Station on Otope Road this weekend .
The event takes quite a lot of commitment as the four have spent months training up to the event, according to spokeswoman Maree Palmer.
She said the motivation for such a huge personal commitment in training up to the event, as well as the mental and physical pressure they would be subjected to, was born from events and personal experiences they as individuals had all been through.
“While they are ultimately aiming to raise as much money and awareness for the chosen charities, they are also trying to draw comparisons to the pain and stress that they will go through over the 24 hours of shearing, to [what] those that suffer and need the support of the charities go through.
“All with the intent of showing that with support and encouragement from people around them, they will come through the other side.”
Dan Billing is one of the group of four involved in the event. Photo / Supplied
Dan Billing, who is a senior agri relationship manager with ANZ Bank, Vaughan Wrenn, Adam Roe and Isaac Scott all farm their own properties.
Billing said none of the four participating were full-time shearers, but did so on an informal basis for fitness, social reasons and as a part of running their own farms.
Vaughan Wrenn, Isaac Scott and Adam Roe will be shearing for charity. Photo / Supplied
Palmer said there would also be a fifth stand that would have a rotation of support shearers.
This would include Reuben Alabaster, local legend Rod Sutton and Amy Silcock.
Reuben Alabaster of Taihape, will be along to support the event. Photo / Doug Laing
Alabaster, 19, set a record of 746 wool lamb shearing in eight hours on December 20, although that record was beaten just two days later by Jack Fagan.
Silcock would be going for her own record in women’s shearing later this month.
The event was aiming to raise $100,000 to be split between the Breast Cancer Foundation, Rural Support Trust and Hear4U, a mental health charity.
Palmer said so far they had raised $50,000 which had only been made possible with the generous support of the local community.
She said the four farmers/shearers were extremely grateful for the support they had received from their families as it had been a huge task preparing for the event, involving many hours away from home as well as dietary requirements.
Billing said it was the first time such an event had been run in the region, but there had been similar events in the past such as the Shear for Blair event held last year which raised more than $200,000 for the Southland community hospice.
Other events have been held since 2016 raising money for various causes.
He said while there was no commitment to run another event, the process had been set up so future events could be done if a worthy cause was identified.
Ewe lambs to be shorn in the event would be sourced from Pukemiro Station, the Cadet Farm and Pohuetai Farms.
Members of the public can go along to support the shearers. The event starts on Saturday at 7am.
There will be food and drink available and an auction on Sunday.
Those wanting to donate or are interested in sponsoring can contact Dan on email: dan.billing@anz.com or phone 027 444 2173 or visit the Shear4U page on Facebook.
