Sheep Industry News March 2024

Shearers Compete for National Titles T he 2024 National Shearing Competition was conducted on Jan. 29 as part of the All Ameri can Sheep Day at the Black Hills Stock Show & AMERICAN SHEEP SHEARERS COUNCIL

The novice division was busy this year with nine competitors. Beginners get the chance to meet expe rienced shearers and spend the day alongside them, providing opportunities for mentorship. But this year’s champion learned through legacy. Tayler Opstedahl is the son of Loren Opstedahl, a past national champion whose family has shearing roots as deep as the 1800s. In the heats, each shearer was responsible for one sheep, and in the finals, four contestants were responsible for two sheep apiece. Tirzah Gunther, Thomas Kuhn and Edith Nickel rounded out the top four in the division. The Intermediate division was a battle and twin brothers bagged the first and second spots with a mere 5-point spread between them. In the Intermediate pre liminaries, each shearer shore three sheep. During the semi-finals, everyone got a second go at four sheep. And in the finals, four competitors shore six sheep apiece. Luke Zeglam edged his brother, Eddie Zeglam for the top spot. Walter Wright and Rowdy Thompson rounded out the top four spots. Last – but by no means least – the professional divi sion began with 10 competitors. New American Sheep Shearers Council Vice President Kurtis Mooney led the charge in the prelims and semi-finals. But in the final four showdown, Alex Moser pulled out the win by half a point over Mooney. It’s always incredible to watch high caliber shearers compete, but it’s even more exciting when 30 seconds and half a point separate the top two. Timothy Wright and Nolan Abel rounded out the top four spots in the professional division.

Rodeo in Rapid City, S.D. The competition featured a number of divisions, including wool handling and blade shearing, as well as three divisions of machine shearing. The wool handling competition showcases the care given to the fleece during and after shearing. In this event, one competitor collected and sorted three fleeces shorn by two shearers simultaneously. This requires next-level multitasking to work on two shearing boards efficiently, a priceless skill in the shearing sheds. With this year’s more relaxed border policies, a Canadian swooped in for the champion title. Pauline Bolay won the wool handling. Leann Brimmer, Christopher Tro endle and Katherine Moser rounded out the top four in the division. The relationship between shepherd and sheep has been around for 9,000 years, and blade shears have been used for half of that time. In a technologically driven world, it’s relaxing to take it back to the basics with the quiet snips of shears. There were plenty of new faces in this year’s competition, which had event organizers ex cited for the future. But in the end, it was a veteran who left with the win as Doug Rathke claimed the top spot. Loren Opstedahl, Mary Lake and Tadlee Opstedahl rounded out the top four. Each shearer completed two sheep in the preliminary round, and the four finalists sheared three sheep apiece.

Novice Machine Shearing Division

14 • Sheep Industry News • sheepusa.org