Passion for shearing started early for young shepherd
18 Jan, 2021 12:00 AM
2 minutes to read
Melissa Hamilton tightens her shearing hand piece before the start of the competition at the 39th Northern Southland Community Shears. Photo / Sandy Eggleston
Melissa Hamilton tightens her shearing hand piece before the start of the competition at the 39th Northern Southland Community Shears. Photo / Sandy Eggleston
Otago Daily Times
By: Luisa Girao
A fascination watching shearers as a child has drawn one young woman into having a go herself.
Shepherd Melissa Hamilton took part in the 39th Northern Southland Community Shears held at the Selbie family woolshed, Lowther Downs, near Lumsden on Friday.
The MetService forecasted the day to reach 26 degrees Celsius in Lumsden. Intermediate competitor Jimmy Napier has been shearing for three years, starting out in juniors, and said it was his mates that encouraged him to take part in competitive shearing.
Damian Rowe/Stuff
Shearer Troy Shirley, who took part in the 2021 Northern Southland shears, has come back into the shearing industry after a three-year hiatus. Napier also has a competitive nature in shearing shed anyway which helps him enjoy the sport. Troy Shirley had recently come back to the sport after a three-year hiatus and said it was financial reasons that got him back into the wool industry.
Robyn Edie/Stuff
Inside the Selbie’s shed where the Northern Southland Community Shears takes place. If contractors were behind on their own shearing they would need to catch up, so Megan understood their dilemma. However, add border closures keeping the regular British and Irish shearers away and the full wool ewe competition on January 15 faced issues. The event usually attracted 60 wool handlers and 90 shearers, but most sign up the day before. Just more than a week out, half-a-dozen had put their names down. The Shirley’s are worried about the future of the event. “I think this is the worst year for entries coming in,” Patsy said.
Sunday, 3 January 2021, 11:53 am
Last
year s Counties Shears in Pukekohe highlighted the busy
programme of New Zealand s top shearers with four of the
Open finalists having competed in Gore less than 24 hours
earlier, including winner Rowland Smith (left) and Jack
Fagan. Photo /
SSNZ
The
2021 Counties Shears are off as a result of the cancellation
of the Franklin A and P Show which was to have been held in
Pukekohe in mid-February.
The
cancellation of the Shears, which had been scheduled for
February 21, the Sunday of the Show, was confirmed by
competition organiser Emily
Welch.
But she said there will be a