Lou Brown Shatters World Shearing Record

The 497 merino ewes shorn in eight hours by Napier-raised shearer Lou Brown was 31 more than the record of 466 set by his coach and mentor, fellow-New Zealander Cartwright Terry, according to a Radio New Zealand report. Few jobs rival the physical demands of shearing, and Brown’s gruelling effort is attributable to years of practice and months of physical training and meditation.

On Rockcliffe farm near Kojonup, 250km south of Perth, hundreds of people crammed into a dusty shearing shed to cheer on Brown, 31, and witness the record attempt.

In the face of such commotion and fanfare, Brown stayed focused on the task at hand and sustained a pace of 1.04 sheep a minute.

In the moments immediately after those eight hours, he hugged his coach and long-time mentor Terry, who set the previous record in 2003.

“I’ve been shearing for 17 years and that’s how long I’ve been dreaming of this,” Brown said.

“To just give it your everything and come away with a win is just unreal.”

Judges from the World Sheep Shearing Records Society travelled from as far as New Zealand and Queensland to adjudicate and verify the record attempt.

New Zealand-based judge Bart Hadfield said the record attempt was equivalent to running two marathons in a day.

“This is like climbing Mount Everest as far as shearing goes. It’s the pinnacle of shed shearing,” Hadfield said.

“Mr Brown is a credit to the shearing industry.”

Original article by Radio New Zealand, April 28, 2019.

Photo by Cartwright Terry.