Nicki claims a double to make history at Ben Hall Shears

World record holder Nicki Guttler has added another milestone to her impressive shearing career, becoming the first woman to win the open machine shearing sports shear competition at Forbes. Nicki also claimed the blade shearing title, capping off a memorable day at the Forbes Show’s Ben Hall Shears. Her Forbes success is the latest achievement in a string of accolades, but behind the result at Forbes was a story that few spectators would have fully appreciated. Nicki’s been shearing for 11 years now but she was introduced to the wool industry from a young age with her mother working in sheds as a wool classer and shearer. A couple of years ago she became the first woman to win the open speed shearing competition at Tullamore Show and, in 2024, then etched her name into the record books as the women’s eight-hour shearing world record holder after shearing 450 Merino lambs. Her growing list of achievements reflects the demands of a sport and an industry that test far more than a shearer’s ability to work quickly. Success in sports shear competition requires competitors to strike a balance between speed and precision. Competitors are judged on both the quality of their shearing and the pace at which they work, with judging teams monitoring performances both on the shearing boards and after the sheep leaves the stand. “There are judges on the board that rotate – they’re looking for any second cuts or any skin pieces on the fleece,” Nicki said. “Once it’s shorn it goes out the back, and it gets judged over for any short wool left on, any skin cuts.” Points are tallied throughout the run, with competitors aiming for the lowest score possible. But shearers are also facing the clock: there’s also a time element with a point added for every 20 seconds. “You also want to be quick, you don’t want to get too far behind, but it’s two thirds cleanliness, one third pace,” Nicki said. “You’ve really got to find the in-between.” Nicki picked up a pretty unique double at Forbes with the blade shearing title, another discipline she has spent years developing. She first picked up the blades at a Beyond Blue fundraising event in South Australia around 2019, invited to take part and gifted a set of blades by after an old family friend. Opportunities to compete in New South Wales were limited, but Nicki found experienced mentors to further develop her skills. A father-and-son team dedicated to keeping the traditional craft alive helped her progress to the point where she will compete at national level. “It’s such a big part of history for our industry so it’s kinda cool to be able to do it,” Nicki said. “I think the crowd really get around it. “There are still so many people who haven’t seen it before so it really is a pretty cool spectacle to be able to put on.” Away from competition, Nicki works in shearing sheds throughout southern Australia, though her commitment to the sport has taken her much further afield. She has competed in Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia, as well as shearing in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It is the camaraderie of the sports shear circuit that continues to draw her back. “I really like the atmosphere around the sports shear, we just have a great bunch of competitors - shearers and wool handlers,” Nicki said. “Everyone’s just such great friends as well as competitors.” The competitions provide an opportunity for people across the industry to reconnect and network as they accumulate points throughout the season. The annual circuit concludes with finals in Dubbo each May, where the top 12 shearers in each grade and the top six wool handlers earn selection in the NSW team for the national championships held in October. “It’s great to go to nationals and catch up with people from across Australia who we may know but don’t get to see regularly,” Nicki said. While the friendships and travel opportunities keep her coming back, the Forbes victory meant more than points on the leaderboard - it marked a personal milestone. Over the past two years Nicki has been working her way back from a back injury while also adapting her shearing style after focusing heavily on speed during preparations for her world record attempt. “I used to be a really clean show shearer in the lower development grades, and then when I was training for a world record … it’s more about pace,” Nicki said. The transition back to sports shear competition has taken time, particularly with injury limiting the amount of work she could do. Changing her style again has been a challenge, but one that paid off at Forbes. “I’ve been working on it pretty hard the last couple of months so the win at Forbes felt extra rewarding - to feel like I had that back again,” Nicki said. “I’m so stoked with it – absolutely over the moon. “I thought I was shearing great but didn’t know it was going to be that great. “There was still a lot of great, strong competitors there. “It wasn’t easy and I thought the sheep were quite challenging, they were very strong, it took a lot of effort to keep hold of them.”