On Saturday Georgia and I drove out to Carterton for a work outing at Paul’s farm. Every year when he has some hoggets that need a trim he invites all the city dwellers out to give it a try, then follows it up with a barbeque. The drive over the Rimutaka range was windy and sketchy. As treacherous as it was, though, it didn’t take long to cross, and we were quickly in the Wairarapa.
We got there around 2 PM and the shearing was already under way. We watched the tail end of someone else giving it a go, and then they wanted me to take a turn. I told Paul, who was running the show, that I would have to at least see one full go before I jumped in there, so Paul did the next one. He made it look quite easy but I knew it was going to be difficult.
There were no more excuses at this point — it was my turn. So I walked into the little holding pen, picked a ewe and went at it. I managed to wrestle her down on the second try and drag her out by the legs. After locking her into position I started to shear that wool off. At first I was really worried about hurting her, but after she started kicking at me and trying to get away I didn’t care so much. It must have taken me close to half an hour to finally get it done.
When it was over my legs were burning with pain. We headed back to the house for some well-deserved drinks and eventually food. I told lots of my kiwi friends about it and none of them had ever done something like that before. Matt is probably going to be jealous.
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