Tom Perry, a professional shearer and farmer from Co Tyrone, is in the final stages of preparing for his attempt to break the current Irish nine-hour lamb shearing record.
The record attempt takes place on Saturday 29 July on the farm of Norma Hoy, Rickamore Brae, Templepatrick, Co Antrim (BT39 0JQ).
Fermanagh native Stanley Allingham set the current record when he shore 708 lambs in nine hours in 2019. The previous record of 669 lambs was held for two years by Mark McGeown from Co Louth.
The scale of the task ahead of Tom is evidenced by the fact that he will need to shear a lamb every 45 seconds.
Gruelling schedule
The setting of such records are monitored precisely, with judges present to record timing and also to ensure that the standard of shearing is sufficient.
Professional shearing works off two working day formats - an eight-hour day and a nine-hour day, with record attempts also working within this time schedule.
Tom Perry will need to shear a lamb every 45 seconds if he is to set a new nine-hour solo shearing record. / Bo Davidson
Tom has almost 10 years' experience of shearing in Australia and most recently New Zealand and during this time has mainly worked of a nine-hour working day.
This consist of nine hours of shearing split across five runs. The timeline for the record attempt is as follows:
Run 1: 5am to 7am, followed by one-hour break.Run 2: 8am to 9.45am, followed by a 30-minute break.Run 3: 10.15am to 12pm, followed by a one-hour break.Run 4: 1pm to 2.45pm followed by a 30-minute break.Run 5: 3.15pm to 5pm. It should be noted that these break times are also the time periods where shearers carry out any alterations to their equipment, such as changing blades, cutting combs, etc.
Huge support
Tom has been training for the attempt since last August, such is the demands of the task ahead.
He is lucky to have a good support team around him and is keen to return this support and is donating all proceeds raised from the attempt to Rural Support, an agriculturally minded charity based in Northern Ireland.
The organisation provides impartial advice for farmers and farm families in support of their farm business and their personal wellbeing.
Tom Perry will be hoping to carry the fine form he exhibited in claiming the national shearing competition at Balmoral Show through to his record attempt.
The main sponsors of the event are Heiniger, Ulster Wool and Jackson’s of Ballynure. The record attempt will be live streamed and links to watch will be shared on Facebook and Instagram.
Members of the public are also welcome to attend on the day.
Tom Perry, a professional shearer and farmer from Co Tyrone, is in the final stages of preparing for his attempt to break the current Irish nine-hour lamb shearing record.
The record attempt takes place on Saturday 29 July on the farm of Norma Hoy, Rickamore Brae, Templepatrick, Co Antrim (BT39 0JQ).
Fermanagh native Stanley Allingham set the current record when he shore 708 lambs in nine hours in 2019. The previous record of 669 lambs was held for two years by Mark McGeown from Co Louth.
The scale of the task ahead of Tom is evidenced by the fact that he will need to shear a lamb every 45 seconds.
Gruelling schedule
The setting of such records are monitored precisely, with judges present to record timing and also to ensure that the standard of shearing is sufficient.
Professional shearing works off two working day formats - an eight-hour day and a nine-hour day, with record attempts also working within this time schedule.
Tom Perry will need to shear a lamb every 45 seconds if he is to set a new nine-hour solo shearing record. / Bo Davidson
Tom has almost 10 years' experience of shearing in Australia and most recently New Zealand and during this time has mainly worked of a nine-hour working day.
This consist of nine hours of shearing split across five runs. The timeline for the record attempt is as follows:
Run 1: 5am to 7am, followed by one-hour break.Run 2: 8am to 9.45am, followed by a 30-minute break.Run 3: 10.15am to 12pm, followed by a one-hour break.Run 4: 1pm to 2.45pm followed by a 30-minute break.Run 5: 3.15pm to 5pm. It should be noted that these break times are also the time periods where shearers carry out any alterations to their equipment, such as changing blades, cutting combs, etc.
Huge support
Tom has been training for the attempt since last August, such is the demands of the task ahead.
He is lucky to have a good support team around him and is keen to return this support and is donating all proceeds raised from the attempt to Rural Support, an agriculturally minded charity based in Northern Ireland.
The organisation provides impartial advice for farmers and farm families in support of their farm business and their personal wellbeing.
Tom Perry will be hoping to carry the fine form he exhibited in claiming the national shearing competition at Balmoral Show through to his record attempt.
The main sponsors of the event are Heiniger, Ulster Wool and Jackson’s of Ballynure. The record attempt will be live streamed and links to watch will be shared on Facebook and Instagram.
Members of the public are also welcome to attend on the day.
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