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and shear style at Chudleigh
THE Chudleigh Royal Shears
shearing and wool handling
competition returned for its
fourth year at the Chudleigh
Show, continuing to cement
its place as a highlight of the
annual program.
Novice events started early,
each competitor shearing two
sheep and novice woolhandlers preparing two fleeces
while the higher divisions had
to deal with higher numbers as
the day progressed and anticipation built toward the 昀椀nals.
The Open divisions were
hotly contested, featuring a mix
of experienced competitors and
fresh talent.
Seasoned competitor Robbie
Glover returned to the board,
setting a high standard in the
Open Shearing 昀椀nal. However,
it was Jack Byers of Oatlands
who claimed 昀椀rst place with
Glover close behind in second.
Jack’s brother and gun
shearer Sam Byers was missing as he was in New Zealand
as part of the Australian team
contesting the Trans-Tasman
shearing competition.
In the Open Woolhandling,
Men’s Open Shearing 昀椀nalists: Tim Boote of Carrick, James Glover of Ross, Josh Hazelwood of Oatlands, Gabe
Last of Ross, Robbie Glover of Miena, Jack Byers of Oatlands.
Jess Whatley of Western Creek
secured 昀椀rst place, her second open win at the Chudleigh Royal Shears, followed by
fresh open competitor Ashlee
McConnon from Swansea.
Both Open champions were
awarded beautifully handpainted shears as their trophies,
marking another successful
year for the Chudleigh Royal
Shears.
Quali昀椀ed woolclasser and
one of the driving forces
behind the Chudleigh event,
Jess Whatley of Western
Creek, was rewarded for her
efforts with a win in the Open
Woolhandling competition.
Having qualified on top
going into the 昀椀nals she found
the strength to follow through
with the win, demonstrating
her trademark quick clean ups
and coming up with a personal
best of 54 seconds to throw the
昀氀eece, sweep the stand, skirt
the 昀氀eece, roll it up back leg
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REEDY MARSH
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The area enjoys
800mm+ rainfall.
It has recently renewed
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A new two-bedroom
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to neck and clean up the whole
workspace and tap out.
In the 昀椀nals woolhandlers
are given a pace shearer,
shearing 昀椀ve sheep in a set
time to place pressure on the
handlers to find a fast and
smooth rhythm and and keep
on track with as little mistakes
as possible.
Jess said she was proud to
win the custom hand-painted
handshears painted by local
artist Alison Scott with a
leather tag by Tania Burbury
leatherwork to add to the set
she won in 2024.
“I was surrounded by top
quality open competitors and
they are strong competition
who really know their job you can’t pick who will win
when we start in the morning
- it could be anyone’s day,”
Jess said.
Results:
Novice shearing: Jayden
Bowerman of Bothwell 1,
Tom Matthews of Bracknell
2, James Brazendale of Bothwell 3, Violet May 4.
Novice woolhandling: Gemma
McGuinness of Oatlands 1,
Jesse Spencer of Cressy 2,
Olivia Baker of Oatlands 3,
Elsie Jones of Western Creek 4.
Intermediate shearing: Jake
Noble of Cressy 1, Bailey
McCarthy of Campbell Town
2, Jayden Bowerman of Bothwell 3, Sym Hood of Longford 4.
Senior woolhandling: Cally
Spangler of Brighton 1, Georgina Viney of Liffey 2, Lucy
Byers 3, Olivia Baker of Oatlands 4.
Senior shearing: Alex Cusick
of Swansea 1, Jackson Jones of
Western Creek 2, Gabe Last 3,
Mark Lytle 4.
Open woolhandling: Jess
Whatley of Western Creek 1,
Ashlee McConnon of Swansea
2, Amelia Byers of Oatlands 3,
Pete Blight of Launceston 4.
Open shearing: Jack Byers
of Oatlands 1, Robbie Glover
of Miena 2, Gabe Last 3, Josh
Hazlewood of Oatlands 4.
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Lower Wilmot
PRICE ON APPLICATION
37.6 ha
The property is 37.6 hectares, consisting of both grazing and bush. The property has
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Contact 0455 872 449 (call only)
TASMANIAN COUNTRY Friday, February 27, 2026 25
