Gaining British Wool Sheep Shearing qualifications has helped one Northumberland farmer be a cut above the rest at NFYFC’s Sheep Shearing national final, supported by Kerbl/Rutland Electric Fencing.
The winner, Sam Wilson from Bellingham YFC in Northumberland, encouraged all YFC members to take advantage of the discounted training offered through British Wool.
“You have got to do qualifications. I have my British Wool Blue Seal and my Silver. If I can recommend anyone to get onto a British Wool course, I will, because it’s amazing what you can learn from doing the courses.
“It’s definitely a good place to start if you’re interested in doing the competition and then you can figure out where you’re going wrong and where you’re going well and sort of build up and get better and better.”
More than 150 YFC members from across England and Wales took advantage of the discounted British Wool courses this year.
As well as providing valuable skills, the discount supports NFYFC’s Sheep Shearing competition, as all competitors must hold at least a Blue Seal qualification to take part.
Sam, who works on his family farm in Wark in Northumberland, has also sheared in New Zealand, where he completed elite wool courses too.
Following a win at Rally and then Northern Area, Sam was excited to be part of the national final at the Great Yorkshire Show in July – and even more delighted to win.
“It felt good, a bit unexpected but you just have to keep your nerve and shear how I want to shear and whatever comes, comes,” said Sam, who also won a Kerbl goody bag.
Competitors are tasked with shearing four sheep in the heats, followed by four in the semi-finals and between five to eight in the final round.
“A lot of people get misguided by the competition, thinking it’s about speed,” said Sam. “But it’s important to remember you’ve got to keep a tidy job and not go too fast and just make sure you’re doing a nice clean job.
“You get judged on second cuts as well, so you want to get the wool off in one blow ideally. If you have to go back for a second blow, you’ll get penalised for that.”
It is hoped NFYFC’s partnership with British Wool will continue in 2027 and news about the discounted courses will be advertised later in the year.
See all Sheep Shearing results.
