A YOUNG dale farmer has overcome a huge health scare to be crowned one of the country’s best sheep shearers.
Jack Hutchinson picked up the trophy as England’s intermediate shearer of the year for 2022 after a successful summer of competitions.
His achievement is all the more remarkable because it came after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
Fortunately, the tumour was found to be benign – but it still meant the 21-year-old was unable to drive for months and had to rely on lifts from girlfriend Lydia, other friends and public transport to get to shearing competitions as far away as Devon and Cornwall, Kent and Edinburgh.
He still managed to compete in seven of the nine qualifying shows.
With his best five scores counting towards the title, he recorded a maximum 50 points to earn the award.
Jack, from Forest-in-Teesdale, described the past few months as “a difficult year, but a good year at the same time” .
The tumour came to light when he woke up one morning feeling ill.
“I thought I would try to last it out, but I was boiling hot and sweating,” he said.
Feeling no better later in the day, he went to A&E at Penrith from where he was sent to hospital at Carlisle.
“I was in hospital for a week. They did a scan and found the tumour. I had more scans and they did a biopsy after which I was back shearing four days later.”
He faced a lengthy wait until doctors confirmed the tumour was benign but due to his medical condition, his driving licence was temporarily revoked.
This meant overcoming logistical challenges to get to the shearing competitions.
“For one, my girlfriend gave me a lift to Stafford where I met up with some shearers I know there, who gave me a lift to Kent,” he said.
Attending the Royal Cornwall Show, where Jack made it through to the final to finish a creditable fourth, involved two trains and two buses.
In all, he recorded wins at the Stafford and Bath and West shows, second spot at the Great Yorkshire Show, third place at the Three Counties Show, in Malvern, and fourth places in Kent and the Royal Cornwall shows.
He now moves up to the senior grade and plans another year of competitions after returning from a winter shearing in New Zealand.
Jack began shearing as a teenager, completing British Wool Board courses. After attending Newton Rigg College, in Penrith, he began work as an itinerant contract shearer in Devon.
“I had it in my head I would be able to do 100 a day – that first day I managed 36, through within a month I had gone from that to 118.
He has progressed to 250 ewes or 300 lambs in a day, recording a daily best of 337 ewes in nine hours and 370 lambs in eight hours.
In competition, judges’ marks are given for the speed of cut, the quality of a second cut and whether there are any cuts and nicks on the animal.
Jack said those taking part all benefitted.
“It is a good way to learn to shear better. You are always trying to push yourself that bit harder. There is always someone there to help you out with a bit of advice and push you to be a quality shearer.”
He said he was looking forward to what will be his second shearing visit to New Zealand after a successful first trip just prior to Covid.
He will undergo a precautionary scan and consultation before he flies out to make sure nothing has changed with his condition.
“There is a big difference between shearing in the UK and New Zealand,” he said.
“In the UK, the average farm might have 600 sheep. In New Zealand, it’s 6,000.
“In the UK you might go to two farms in a day, whereas in New Zealand you will be at a farm for a week and you work in a purpose-built shearing shed rather than off the back of a trailer.”
On his return, he has the world shearing championships at the Royal Highland Show, in Edinburgh, to look forward to – and many more sheep to shear.
“I don’t see myself farming. I see myself shearing for as long as possible, until I can’t.
“I would like to get a lot better. I have still got a long way to go and a lot of stuff to learn,” he said.
