Gun Bruce Rock shearer Ethan Harder set on breaking lamb shearing world record on Williams farm in September

Katanning-born Bruce Rock shearer Ethan Harder will be giving it his all on September 18 as he makes an attempt on a farm in Williams to break the Merino lamb shearing record. Judges from the UK, New Zealand and Australia will be on hand to verify the feat and three weeks out the 24-year-old, who has been shearing for 17 years, is feeling confident. “These are the days you dream about having and it’s been a dream of mine for a long time to have a crack at something like this,” he said. “It would mean a lot to not only myself but my family.” Harder will need to shear at least 605 lambs in eight hours to beat the record set by Koen Black in Kulikup last year, a formidable task but one he bettered unofficially in Bruce Rock several years ago. The third-generation shearer set another unofficial mark in 2015 when at 16 he shore 400 Merino sheep in less than eight hours at a Bruce Rock farm on July 24. “I’ve been planning the attempt and training hard for about eight weeks beforehand,” he said at the time. “Other than feeling totally exhausted, I just feel great getting it out of the way so I can focus on my next challenge.” Harder’s first official record attempt in 2020 at the solo Merino ewe eight hour in Cordering saw him fall 10 sheep short of 497 — the goal set by Lou Brown in 2019. Harder said the experience taught him a lot. “I was happy to have achieved what I did, I was proud of myself even though I didn’t get it,” Mr Harder said. “This time I’ve tried to knuckle down, I’m more focused on the timing and the body will just have to keep up with the mind.” The biggest lesson Harder came away with was the importance of being surrounded by a good support network enabling him to focus on the task at hand. “I had three herniated discs in my back about six months ago and had five months off shearing,” he said. “During that time I met a good physio — he’s helped me through all that and he’s going to come and help on the day. “I’ll also have a second, someone that talks to me throughout the day to keep me on mentally, and a first to do my water and write down my timing to keep me on track.” Harder’s record attempt will kick off at 7.30am and take place over four two-hour runs, with an hour break for lunch and half-hour breaks in the morning and afternoon. “It’s like running a marathon for two hours and then you have a half-hour break, it’s like a pit stop for a car, you’re just a body and you need the people in place to keep you going,” he said. “Anyone can be a good shearer but without a good team you can’t do things like this, put a team around you that’s going to help you out and try your hardest and you can succeed.”