Tom’s shear brilliance earns title

THE prestigious Balmoral Show saw history made as their sheep shearing Six Nations championships were recently won by the team representing the North, with a Strabane man front and centre of the triumph.

Tom Perry of the Urney Road, was part of a duo of sheep shearers who successfully took on teams from England, Scotland, Wales, France, and Ireland, clipping his way to victory. The success was the first time since 1976 that a team representing the North won the hallowed title, Tom accompanied by Claudy farmer Jack Robinson.

Talking through the process of how he came to be part of the team, Tom explained, “All year round there are numerous sheep shearing competitions where competitors fight it out to win. A victory gains points and, if you’re lucky enough to accumulate enough points, then a place on the Six Nations team is the prize which I was good enough to get. It’s an extremely proud moment being asked to represent your country.”

Once there, Tom prepared strenuously to be ‘match fit’ and, although admitting to some nerves on the day, remained confident.

Explaining how the competition worked, Tom says, “Each team performance is based on three criteria; first is cleanliness. You need to maximise wool length with each cut. The longer the length when it’s taken from the sheep the better. Secondly is evenness of the cut while thirdly is speed. Each team has a set amount of sheep to shear and it’s about getting each sheep done to the highest standard in the shortest amount of time. I manage to shear one sheep a minute during the competition, but my personal best is 41 seconds.”

Having clipped his way to victory, Tom says he is ‘immensely proud’ to have brought the title home as is his mother, Gloria.

His Urney Road home hasn’t seen a huge family celebration to acknowledge the feat, but Tom and Jack did take time out on the day to enjoy a few beers with their fellow competitors and supporters.

Involved in shearing from the tender age of 17, Tom’s woolly adventures have taken him to the far-flung shores of Australia and New Zealand, the Shangri-la of the industry.

“I began shearing in my teens, which took a back seat for a while to get college out of the way. Mum wanted me to get a proper job, but I had my heart set on being a sheep shearer and I wasn’t going to let anything deter me from it. After staying at home for the first year I got the travel bug and so off I went.

“It’s a seasonal job but there’s always work out there,” Tom explained.

“I would spend a season at a time overseas making a living, come home for a bit to help on the farm and then be off again. There’s a saying in this business and that’s to ‘follow the sun’ so it’s exactly what I did, heading all over the world a few months at a time just doing a job that I genuinely love.”

Despite his success, Tom has no time to go resting on laurels, going back on the circuit hoping to gain enough points to represent the North again and not to mention The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society’s Golden Shears competition in 2023 on the horizon.

Showing his love for his work, Tom concludes saying, “I’ve been doing it now for nine years and can’t imagine myself doing anything else. I love this job.”