Sheep-shearers battle for top prize - 31st March 2023

The world's most prestigious sheep-shearing and woolhandling contest, the Golden Shears, has been staged in Masterton, New Zealand since it began in 1961, and it now draws participants from across the globe.

At one time deemed an arduous duty of farming life, sheep-shearing has now emerged as an elite sporting pursuit and shearer Keryn Herbert knows exactly why.

Keryn Herbert: "If you look at a lot of people who do the competitions in New Zealand in shearing and wool handling, I guarantee you at school they were probably top sports people too."

On top of the physical strength required, the psychological stamina is of equal significance, according to Joel Henare.

Joel Henare: "You need to be fit, yeah, but, in your body physically, but you also need to have the mental strength as well to be able to pull you through, yeah, so you got everything locked down."

The annual competition pits six contestants against one another, each one shearing 20 sheep, while the rivalry's observed by both a crammed stadium and by around 70,000 followers on the event's livestream.

Abiding by the rules of the Bowen technique, the contenders aim to ensure that the fleece is shorn off intact, and needless to say, without causing injury to either the beast or the shearer.

Gavin Mutch is a Scottish shearer farming sheep in New Zealand.

Gavin Mutch: "The sudden burst of intensity you have to have, it's, yeah, it's unbelievable pressure put on your body and the energy levels you use."

A trophy's also up for grabs in the event's 'Woolhandling' category, but the rich variety of sheep breeds and the diversity of processing techniques in play globally means no standard method is prescribed. Woolhandling is of vital significance when it comes to the sorting, presentation and marketing of wool.

Attracted by the prospect of taking home the Golden Shears, the competitors embrace the task with efficiency and vigour.