Three shearers tackling a World lambshearing record in the Central North Island today are comfortably ahead of the target pace at the quarter-way stage.
Shearing at Mangapehi, between Te Kuiti and Benneydale in the King Country, Gore shearer Ryan Miller and Welsh guns Matthew Evans and Delwyn Jones shore 463 lambs in the first of four two-hour runs in their bid for a record of 1784 in eight hours set 18 years ago.
Starting at 7am, Miller had shorn 157 in the run to morning smoko, Evans 156 and Jones 150.
The target pace was just over 446 for each of the four two-hour runs up to the finish at 5pm.
The second run is from 9.30am to lunch break at 11.30am.