For Sam Mackrill it was a back-to-back win with Sports Shear Australia at Geelong on October 18, after achieving similar success last year.
Sam took home the state title by pushing through 15 cross-bred sheep in 15 minutes. But it’s not just speed that brings victory.
Both sheep and the fleece are inspected by judges to ensure its a quality cut.
“You have to be fast and clean,” he notes.
Now Sam will compete in the national shearing and wool handling championships at Warrnambool on October 30 and 31, to see if he can make it into the Australian team which will take on the Kiwis in New Zealand.
The son of a shearer, Sam shore his first sheep at the age of eight and has been working in the sheds for about 16 years.
Sam’s best tally over eight hours was 615 cross-bred lambs.
Sam admits to being a competitive person and he enjoys the challenge of speed shearing.
“It’s fun and you get to travel. And there’s some prize money involved.”
Sam’s young son Dustin, who featured in the pages of Country News a few months ago, is developing his own Texel sheep stud.
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