Sacha Bond's Lambs Record Bid Is On Today

King Country-based shearer Sacha Bond is on the way in a bid to set a new solo women’s World eight-hours lambshearing record after being given the green light by World Sheep Shearing Records Society judges on Friday, the eve of the Saturday 7am-5pm challenge in Northern Southland.

The 29-year-old mum, from Woodville and a former pupil of Tararua College, Pahiatua, but based in Australia for much of her shearing and woolhandling career, is making the attempt at Fairlight Station, south of Kingston and the southern tip of Lake Wakatipu.

The target is the tally of 510 shorn by Canadian shearer Paulin Bolay at Waikaretu, between Port Waikato and Raglan, on December 7, 2019.

Bolay shore successive two-hour tallies of 127, 125, 131 and 127 to beat by three the previous record of 507 shorn by King Country shearer Kerri-Jo Te Huia at Te Hape, near Bennydale, on January 10, 2012.

But the category of record is possibly best known for the 470 shorn at Mangapehi, also near Bennydale, on January 13, 2009, by Wairoa shearer Ingrid Baynes with mother Marg in a two-stand record that hasn’t yet been challenged.

Judging convenor Peter Artridge and New Zealand panelists Robert McLaren, Alistair Emslie and North Island official Bart Hadfield gave the green light in a pre-record, Friday-afternoon wool-weight, in which the clip from 20 of the target-flock lambs averaged 1.034kg of wool each, comfortably exceeding the minimum requirement of 0.9kg.

The four tuns, from 7am to 9am, 9,30am to 11.30am, 12.30pm to 2.30pm and 3pm to 5pm represent the standard eight-hour working day in New Zealand woolsheds, allowing breaks for morning and afternoon tea and lunch.

Maximum temperatures of 28-32deg were being forecast for the district for what is the 11th record attempt of the records society’s 2022-2023 year.

All but one of the 10 to date have been successful, including two just two days apart in December on the men’s 8hrs solo strongwool lambs record, which now stands at 754.

Bond, partner of Coel L’Huillier, who shore 677 in a three-stand men’s record in December 2019, will be aiming to get onto an early average of at least 16 lambs a quarter-hour.

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