Jake Herring Celebrates First Win In Sports Shearing Competition

Parkes local Jake Herring has been shear­ing competitively for just over a year now.

His dad used to compete, and Jake was just 7 years old when his dad first let him use the handpiece and shear. “I was 17 when I started to shear full-time, and even­tually after learning to shear, I decided to compete as well,” said Jake.

Sports shearing is an Australia wide com­petition. To be eligible to compete nation­ally, shearers join the circuit and shear in competitions at agricultural shows in NSW, with the aim of earning enough points to compete for NSW against the other states.

There is generally a sports shear com­petition held somewhere in NSW almost fortnightly, with some of the shows also of­fering wool handling competitions.

Jake Herring recently scored his first blue ribbon at the Forbes Show and said, “I’ve done quite a few shows now and and I was extremely happy with the first place on the weekend as I’ve worked very hard to get there.”

“I started competing to learn more about what I’m doing in terms of shearing gear and actually shearing the sheep, but after a taste of a few second and third places, I was determined to win,” said Jake.

Jake will continue to compete individually against other shearers from around NSW, all vying for the top spot and the opportu­nity to compete at the national competition.

The first authenticated daily tally of sheep sheared in Australia was recorded in 1835 by Tom Merely, who sheared 30 sheep.

Over the years, shearing has evolved sig­nificantly with the introduction of mechani­cal shears and the establishment of shear­ing competitions, leading to its recognition as a sport in Australia.