Two mid Wales shearers have set a new eight-hour two-stand British ewe shearing record - on the hottest day of the year.
The duo of Gethin Lewis and Llyr Evans smashed the previous record of 1,075 ewes, set by Martin Howlett and Jonny Roberts in 2019.
Shearing started at 7am at Gethin’s family farm of Glan Elan, in Cwmdauddwr, Rhayader, on Saturday, July 12.
After four runs the last ewe was shorn at 5pm, meaning a combined total of 1,364 ewes had been shorn in eight hours.
Llyr shore 668 ewes, which also eclipsed the previous solo record set by Huw Jones, of 663.
“I’m delighted that our attempt was successful,” said Gethin, 29.
“It's been a 12-month journey preparing for today, but all the hard work has been worth it.”
Llyr added: “All roads led to today, and I'm proud of what we have both achieved – it feels great to be a British shearing record holder.”
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Of the hot weather, Llyr, from Trawsgoed, near Aberystwyth, added: “The extreme heat made the challenge more difficult and at times during the day it was extremely difficult and we both needed to dig deep to get through to the end.”
Both Gethin and Llyr paid tribute to all those who had supported their attempt.
“This record would not have been possible without the help and support of both our families,” said Gethin.
“Thank you, it means so much to us both that we have achieved what we have here today.
“We’d also like to pay tribute to the support and commitment of so many people, too many to name individually.
Gareth Jones, head of member engagement at British Wool, said: “On behalf of British Wool, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to Gethin and Llyr on their incredible achievement.
“Setting a shearing record requires not only personal dedication and skill but also the collective effort of a strong support team. We commend everyone involved in making this success possible.”
The Welsh Air Ambulance and Brain Tumour Research were the nominated charities, with fundraising taking place during the day.
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