Shane Ratima, left, and Paerata Abraham, who with Leon Samuels set a new world three-stand, eight hour strong wool lamb shearing record of 2073. Photo – Barbara Newton.

A GANG of New Zealand shearers has smashed a three-stand world record by almost 100 lambs in a remote West Otago wool shed.

The successful attempt on Saturday took place at Wohelo Station, Moa Flat, south of Roxburgh, where Leon Samuels, of Roxburgh, Paerata Abraham, of Masterton, and Shane Ratima, of Hunterville, were chasing a three-stand, eight hour, strong wool lambs record of 1976 set by King Country shearers Kaleb Foote, Cole L’Huillier and Daniel Langlands near Piopio in December 2019.

Leon Samuels on his way to a tally of 702 lambs. Photo – Barbara Newton.

Starting at 7am and facing four two-hour runs, the targets grew as the tallies grew, the record was passed with more than 20 minutes to go. The trio, all right-handers, finished with 2073, led by former Golden Shears open champion Samuels who passed 700 for the day barely a minute before the clock ticked past the 5pm finish.

Samuels finished with 702, Abraham 692 and Ratima, shearing throughout with a heavily bandaged left forearm, finished with 679, after eight lambs were rejected by the six World Sheep Shearing Records Society referees.

The shearers managed 516 in the first run from 7am to 9am, 720 in the run to lunch at 11.30am, 217 in the first run after lunch, and 520 in the run to knock-off, in which Samuels sheared the best personal run  of the day with 181.

It was Samuels’ third record-breaking success, being a holder of the four-stand record of 2556, in which he sheared 648 in Southland in 2013, and a former holder of a solo strong wool ewes record shorn in 2017.

Abraham was involved in an unsuccessful two-stand lambs record attempt east of Masterton in December 2024 and Ratima was involved in an unsuccessful attempt on the three-stand record eight days later near Hunterville.

It was the third of three record attempts in New Zealand this summer — all successful.

On January 5, Whanganui shearer Simon Goss beat the nine hour strong wool ewes record by one with a new tally of 732, at Te Pa in the central North Island, and on January 20 Te Atakura Crawford, Ariana Te Whata, Pagan Rimene and Rose Lewis established a women’s four-stand eight hour strong wool lambs record of 1938, at Melrose, near Owaka, South Otago.

The record-breaking shearers, from left, Leon Samuels, Shane Ratima and Paerata Abraham. Photo – Shedtalk.