Welsh shearing duo set new British record
© Tim Scrivener Two Welsh blade shearers have smashed the British sheep shearing record by shearing nearly 400 lambs in just nine hours.
Gareth Pennant Owen and Clive Hamer set a new British record for what’s known as the “nine-hour two stand blade shearing on lambs” on 30 September.
Having made a start at 5am, the pair sheared 397 lambs in total over the nine-hour stint at Fernhill Farm, Somerset – that’s an average of 44 lambs an hour.
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Gareth enjoyed double the success by taking the single blade title, shearing 202 lambs in total.
Both men compete regularly in shearing competitions and are members of the Royal Welsh Shearing Committee.
A sheep farmer from the Snowdonia National Park, Gareth started blade shearing when he was just 15 years old and has competed for Wales and sheared around the world.
Clive is a farmer in the Elan Valley area of Wales and shears commercially in the UK and New Zealand.
Gareth Owen (left) and Clive Hamer © British Wool
Congratulating both men on their amazing acheivement, former Welsh shearing and woolhandling team manager Martyn David said: “Witnessing Gareth and Clive become champions was fantastic. It puts them up amongst the very best shearers in the world.
“All of Wales are very proud of what [they] have done for blade shearing, both in Wales and the UK.”