Shear hard work pays off for pair
APAIR of young farmers from Devon say they have been “overwhelmed” by the generosity of friends, family and the public which saw them raise over £20,000 for charity in a 24-hour ‘shearathon’.
Stuart Persey and James Westcott, current and former chairman of Culm Valley YFC respectively, sheared an impressive 1,135 sheep over the course of the gruelling challenge.
Kicking off with one hour shearing together and ending in the same way, the friends took it in turns to shear for one-hour stints between 7pm on Saturday, August 25 and 7pm on Sunday, August 25 – each clocking up 13 hours on the clippers.
Staged at Stuart’s family farm near Cullompton, the final fundraising total of £20,150 for the MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Society was boosted by takings from the day’s barbecue, bar, raffle and auction.
“I have always talked to my parents about maybe doing a shearing event,” explained Stuart, 27, adding: “As this year is my year, as chairman,
to organise a charity event, I decided this marathon would be a good idea, and luckily James agreed to do it with me!
“We chose the MS Society as a close friend has recently been diagnosed with the disease, and we also know quite a few local people with MS.”
Stuart, who started shearing aged 17 for local contractor Gavin Stevens, before at the age of 21 spending three months in New Zealand honing his skills, added: “We were overwhelmed by the amount of support we had, even through the night. We couldn’t have been happier with the turnout and the atmosphere was totally amazing.
“There were times when we both struggled to keep going, the lack of sleep does take its toll, but with the support we had from everyone and knowing it was for a good cause, it kept us going.
“It was the most exhausting and emotional thing I’ve ever done, but also the most rewarding, which made it all worth it.” James, 26, who is the current chairman of East Devon YFC and runs his own contract shearing business, added: “We organised the event to raise money for our chosen charity, as well as to promote Young Farmers’ Clubs and the wool industry. It was such a buzz and exceeded all our expectations.”