Thursday, 18 December, 2014 - 16:12

By Doug Laing, Shearing Sports New Zealand

Te Kuiti shearer Stacey Te Huia has confirmed he will tackle two of the World’s toughest shearing records early in the New Year - four weeks apart and on both sides of the Tasman.

Based for most of the year in Bathurst, NSW, but currently in New Zealand preparing for the challenge, Te Huia will make bids for the solo nine-hours strongwool ewes record of 721 on January 22 at Te Hape, east of the King Country township of Benneydale, and the

finewooled merino record of 513 at Parkdale, near Dubbo, NSW, on February 20.

The strongwool record was originally to have been shorn at Waitara Station, northeast of Te Pohue in Hawke’s Bay.

Te Huia said a meeting of organisers last week decided to "start looking for a Plan B" because the condition of the sheep this summer in the area was making them unsuitable for the record.

"The sheep have done it hard this season," he said."Too much pumice and not enough rain."

"We decided on Tuesday that pulling out (of Waitara Station) would be the best option to achieve our goal."

Te Hape has about 10,000 open-faced romneys to choose from, and Te Huia is already optimistic, saying: "They comb like butter."

He knows what’s needed to break the record, having failed in an attempt early in 2013, the only other attempt on the pinnacle record since Porangahau shearer Rodney Sutton set mark eight years ago.

Now 35, Te Huia is, however, the holder of the eight-hours strongwool ewes record of 603 shorn in December 2010, and shore 674 in a nine-hours two-stand record of 1341 in January 2012. He first shore a record in a successful multi-stand lambs bid in 1999.

The merino record was set by Australian shearer Dwayne Black at Kojonup, West Australia, in April 2005.