A RECORD-BREAKING New Zealand shearer and a South African who took to shearing after being ruled out of rugby by a severe injury are this week tackling what is the first world shearing record in South Africa in 19 years.

The two are Aidan Copp, 39, who shears mainly in Australia, based in Yass, New South Wales, but grew up on a lifestyle block at West Melton, near Christchurch, and Tienie du Plessis, 38, of Steynsburg, in inland Eastern Cape.

The bid for the nine hour two stand Merino lamb record, for which there is no current mark, will take place on Tuesday (South Arica time) at Teebus Waters, near Steynsburg, about 330km north-west of coastal city East London.

The solo nine hour Merino lamb record is 664, intact for more than 20 years since being shorn by New Zealander Dwayne Black in West Australia in 2004.

They are among more than 40 record categories recognised by the World Sheep Shearing Records Society for solo and multi-stand men’s and women’s machine and blades shearing, ewes, lambs and wethers, and strong and fine wool, and crossbreds.

The last world shearing records in South Africa were the solo and two-stand Merino lamb marks set by South African blade shearing pair Samuel Juba and Bangali Joel in Victoria West, Northern Cape Province, in February 2006.

The only other record on the continent was the three stand machine tally of 1208 Merino lambs in eight hours near Tromsburg, about 180km north of Steynsburg, in February 2003, of which 456 were shorn by Ken Norman, who learnt to shear in New Zealand and later settled with his family farming near Pahiatua.

Copp, who has been shearing since the age of 16 and has shorn around the world, including teaching shearing in the Himalayas, is the current holder of an eight hour crossbred lamb record he first set in 2019 with a tally of 524 in NSW and reclaimed with a new tally of 605 two years ago. In New Zealand in 2015, he shore 586 strong wool lambs in a five stand, eight hour record of 2910 in a Southland woolshed that was broken last year.

Tienie du Plessis.

Tienie Du Plessis didn’t take up shearing until his recovery after suffering a fractured skull in 2009 and will be making his first world record attempt, although he is a South African record holder.

He shore 506 as he and Marius Klopper set a South Africa two stand eight hour tally of 1011 Merino lambs in September, and in February shore 1031 Merinos in 24 hours, in a “Shear Madness” fundraising event of 12 runs of two hours each.

Copp first went to South Africa last year to help du Plessis and Klopper, and, while focussed on this week’s challenge is also planning a solo eight hour Merino ewes record bid next month, also in South Africa.

Tienie, a shearing contractor whose crews shear about 400,000 sheep, mainly Merinos and Dohnes, said that while eight hour days are irregular in South Africa and nine hour days are almost non-existent, his motivation is to inspire South African and show that bigger numbers are possible “even in SA.”

“The average tally for SA shearers would be 130-150 per day with the top guys doing 200-230 per day,” he said.

“The other part is to show producers (farmers) what can be achieved by one shearer when he works productively for 8 or 9 hours on an ideal setup.

“Shearing conditions are not good over here with shearers having to catch sheep in big pens and return sheep to the same pen and quite often the drag is more than 10 metres to the shearing plant,” he said.

“Lastly we want to inform the general public about shearing and wool.

“There are lots of misconceptions about shearing and we try to educate the public on what really happens at shearing time and that shearing is a viable career choice for youngsters coming out of school.”

ENDS