First ever women's 8 hour ewe shearing World and British record attempt

First ever women's 8 hour ewe shearing World and British record attempt:

One of Britain’s finest female shearers will be making a record-breaking attempt to shear as many sheep as possible in eight hours later this month.

Kent-based Marie Prebble who is 34 years old will be attempting to set the first ever Women’s 8 Hour Strong Wool Ewe World Record.

Marie has been shearing for 10 years, her career began when she completed a shearing course in New Zealand and several British Wool training courses back in the UK. Marie is a full-time sheep farmer and in her spare time enjoys exploring the countryside with her husband and their dogs.

Marie said: “I love the work ethic and positive attitude that gets shearers through tough days and the social aspect that makes it all worthwhile.  It is a great privilege to be attempting to set the first women's World 8 hour strong wool ewe record which has given me the opportunity to shear with some of the UK's best shearers who are also great friends. The process of organising this sort of event takes a huge team effort and personal commitment in terms of training, increasing the volume of shearing I do and focusing on the record attempt itself”.

Marie continued: “The shearing community is the hardest working, globally connected, toughest, biggest hearted group of people I know.  I take inspiration from all the women who have sheared day in day out in New Zealand and Australia before it was as accepted to have women shearing in the sheds as well as world record setters such as Kerri-Jo Te Huia, Emily Welch and Megan Whitehead.”

Richard Schofield, Shearing Manager, British Wool said: “Record attempts are an excellent opportunity to showcase the highly skilled individuals driving the industry forward while also helping to promote the quality of British wool to wider audiences.

“As a key industry body, we are totally committed to supporting champions as representatives and ambassadors. We’re delighted to be supporting Marie to help her achieve her goal and wish her the very best of luck.”

Fundraising for the Lily Foundation charity will take place on the day raising money to support families affected by Mitochondrial Disease