NEW Zealand shearer Aiden Copp on Saturday became the latest shearer to set world records on both sides of the Tasman Sea with a new record for Merino crossbred lambs achieved in a Riverina shed.
The 34-year-old from Canterbury is now based mainly in Australia and shore 524 first cross lambs in eight hours, breaking a 14-year-old record by five lambs despite a cut to a hand which brought the attempt to a short stop near the end of the third of the four two-runs.
A trans-Tasman panel of World Sheep Shearing Records Society judges headed by South Island official Robert McLaren granted an injury break which extended the last run by over four minutes. Copp completing the day with successive runs of 135, 130, 125 and 134.
The previous record of 519 was set by Dwayne Black in West Australia in 2005, with runs of 131, 131, 128 and 129.
The record compares with the strong wool lambs record of 744 for eight hours set by Irish shearer Ivan Scott in New Zealand in 2012.
The record was set at a Gnadbro property in the Riverina with some expert help, including fellow New Zealand shearers and record-breakers Lou Brown and Cartwright Terry, each also based in Australia.
Copp was already in the record books as one of five shearers who set a five-stand strong wool lambs record of 2910 eight hours in a remote King Country woolshed in January 2015.
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