Shear heartbreak for Mutch

RICHARD WOODD/Taranaki Daily

A disappointed Gavin Mutch after giving up his world record shearing bid.

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Scottish shearer Gavin Mutch, 29, threw in the towel after six hours of his assault on the world eight-hour strongwool solo lamb-shearing record at Pohokura yesterday.

At the final rest break, confronted with the near-impossible task of shearing 190 lambs in two hours to beat the record, Mutch's manager Digger Balme announced it was all over.

Mutch said he had vomited twice and it was just common sense to call it quits.

"The mind was OK but the body let me down," he said. "I'm pleased I gave it a go. I've learned a lot from it.

"The lambs were prepared well, I have no complaints about them. It was just the man who was lacking."

He was above his required 183 run average on the first of four two-hour runs and he was pleased with his shearing quality, but he needed to make up a deficit of 11 lambs on the final, toughest run to 5pm, after a 7am start.

The record of 731 was set by Justin Bell at the Opepe Trust Farm, Taupo, in 2002. Irish shearer Ivan Scott will attempt to beat it at the Onuku Maori Trust farm, Rerewhakaaitu, Rotorua on Thursday.

Bell, who is involved in the Scott attempt, was watching Mutch and says he thinks it could eventually go as high as 800.

Balme managed yesterday's bid and encouraged Mutch throughout, along with Mutch's shearing buddy Shane Rawlinson. Balme said they reviewed the situation at the break and it was decided to call off the attempt, because of how Mutch was feeling and the deficit was too much to make up.

"It was an awesome effort at his first attempt. He's young and he'll be back. He needs to work on his pattern, become a little more economical. I've seen this happen before, that's the sport."

The attempt was staged at Ken and Donna Lobb's shed on top of the Pohokura Saddle, 40km east of Stratford, in what has always been regarded as hard hill country.

Mr Lobb said it was a "huge event" for Pohokura. His father Bob, who developed the farm with his sons, was there to watch and said he never in his wildest dreams imagined that a world shearing record might be attempted on lambs descended from his Romneys.

Mutch was inspired to try for the record after a personal best 802 over nine hours in the Lobb shed last December, as part of Rob Thomson's four-stand contracting gang which set an unofficial Taranaki record of 2632 lambs.

Mutch's wife Pip McLellan, who farms with him at Kohuratahi, said: "He didn't know what was going to happen on the day. He'll be disappointed but he'll get over it. It might just make him keen to do it another time."

Bell's run tallies were: 187, 185, 179, 180. Mutch's were: 185, 178, 179.

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