NEW South Wales’ Jeanine Kimm has battled cold temperatures to be the first Australian woman to set an official world shearing record and the first female to do it with Merino sheep.

In her first official attempt, the 31 year-old set a women’s eight-hour Merino ewe record of 358 at Damon and Sophie Sostor’s ‘Dalkeith’ shed near Cassilis, NSW, on Saturday.

Cold weather makes sheep tighten up and cools the lanolin in their fleece, making combing harder than under warmer conditions. But Jeanine, shearing on a wet day with outside air temperature ranging from 12-20 degrees Celsius, put up a stellar effort, according to major sponsor and Reddyman Shearing contractor Tim Redman from Goulburn.

“She smashed a good number.”

Her second and organiser Mark Constance said Jeanine set a minimum goal of 351 ewes, the tally of the first men’s Merino ewe record, and exceeded that, keeping her quality up throughout the day.

“On a better day she would have done a lot more than she did, but that’s how it was.

“She did really good, it was a tremendous effort.”

Jeanine Kimm and her father Noel on the battens with the ewes shorn to set the record. Image – Nikki Lyons.

Jeanine said she had been shearing for about 11 years full-time. Her father and shearer Noel Kimm first started giving her a go on the handpiece when she was 14 years-old.

No other woman has set a Merino sheep shearing world record and to Jeanine’s knowledge no Australian woman has ever set a world shearing record of any sheep. And playing the role as a trailblazer for women’s shearing, Jeanine said: “Someone’s got to open the gate.”

“I just wanted to set a challenge, something that they (fellow female shearers) can work towards.”

Jeanine said she held up well physically during the record, managing to eat and drink. She felt like she could have given a lot more physically, but the biggest challenge was mentally keeping everything running and managing the different conditions to normal shearing.

“You are relying so much more on your team which changes the dynamics of everything.”

Jeanine said she pulled up yesterday “not too bad” and though stiff and sore warmed up yesterday to shear the remaining ewes of those provided by Troy and Sarah Rose of ‘Rotherwood’, Cassilis.

She highlighted the amount of support and behind-the-scenes work that went into the record, including locally and by small businesses out of the area. Jeanine said the amount of work put in by the Sostors and the Roses in the months before the record was phenomenal.

Jeanine said she is now heading for a couple of weeks off to visit some family in Queensland before getting back to work with her contractor Peter Robinson, Fullerton Shearing Services at Crookwell.

Referees for the record attempt from the World Shearing Records Society were convenor Robert McLaren from New Zealand, and David Brooker, Dave Grant, Ralph Blue from Australia.

Judge David Brooker said Ms Kimm had obviously done the necessary training and had the right mindset to set the record.

“She gritted it out right through to the end of the day, right till 5.30pm.”