WILLALOOKA gun shearer Shannon Warnest has claimed his 11th national title at the Sports Australia National Shearing & Wool Handling Championships in NSW on the weekend.
And he has his sights firmly on the Golden Shears in Invercargill, New Zealand, next year, aiming to be just the third shearer to be world champion on both Merinos and crossbreds.
“Having won two world champions on Merinos, to back it up on crossbreds would be the ultimate for me so my aim is to be in the top six to make the final come February,” he said.
“I need to pick up seven or eight seconds a sheep to be up there and watching some videos in the car on the way home, I know where there is two or three already.”
The 42-year-old farmer and shearer reclaimed the top spot after being runner-up for the past two years.
“We have sold the (Willalooka) tavern so I had more time to prepare for it,” he said. “And we are having a good season, compared to the past few, so my mind was in a good place. There is no better feeling, but it was hard work chasing them.”
Runner-up Jason Wingfield, Cobram, Vic, set the pace in the final, shearing 20 crossbred ewes in just 21 minutes/42 seconds, compared to Mr Warnest’s 24 minutes/14 seconds, but it was his quality which won out.
Mr Warnest says competitive shearing is an “international sport” having shorn in 18 countries.
“It has made my everyday job more enjoyable,” he said. “You go to work to prove yourself and all of a sudden it is Friday rather than the week dragging out.”
