Ruawai shearer Matthew Smith felt "absolute relief" when his bid to set a world shearing record was successfully completed.
"I have never felt so shattered in my entire life," he said after shearing 578 ewes in eight hours at Waitara Station, northwest of Napier on Friday.
The 25-year-old, becoming one of the
youngest men to set a world shearing record, breezed past the previous record of 560 with about 15 minutes to go.
Smith said he had hoped to shear more than 600, but the fleece weight of the sheep he had lined up for the record bid had fallen a fraction short of the 3kg required.
He had to choose between waiting a fortnight for the fleeces to grow slightly or using unwashed sheep from "out of the paddock" with pumice in their fleeces.
With the record arrangements in place, he decided to go ahead and was "really happy" with the result, despite the abrasive pumice forcing him to change his shearing combs every four minutes instead of the usual 15-20.
Smith lost 7kg when settling the record, which he described as "character building".
"With an hour to go my arms and legs weren't working properly and I thought the only thing I could do was to keep throwing myself into it," he said.
A day later he competed in the open class at the Wairoa Shears, where he was first off the board in his heat, but did not qualify for the semifinals.
"My body was still in shutdown mode. I was a bit jaded, but I was near the top of the field, so I wasn't embarrassed," he said.
His father Alan Smith, who runs cattle and sheep on 81ha at Ruawai, was at Waitara Station to see the record broken.
So were Matthew's brothers Rowland, 22, Douglas, 26, elder sisters Lorraine and Jessica and his English partner Melanie.
Matthew Smith first showed his world-class potential when he beat King Country shearing legend David Fagan to win the open plate in the Golden Shears at Masterton in 2006.
Just how long the 578 ewe record will stand is in doubt as Te Kuiti shearer Stacey Te Huia is making a challenge this week, hoping to be the first to shear 600 ewes in eight hours.
Smith said he had worked with Te Huia, who was "a very talented guy".
"I wish him all the best. He's got an awesome shot at beating it, and if he does I'll have to have another go."
