Why Gareth would be an effective mentor
- Gareth, who lives on a beef and sheep farm in Henllan, has more than 20 years of experience in the shearing industry. A keen competitor and winner of countless shearing awards, his work has taken him all over the world. He attended shearing school in New Zealand three times and counts himself fortunate to have watched, taken advice and learnt from the best of the best.
- He has gained a raft of British Wool accreditations for shearing and now, as one of the organisation’s senior instructors, is undergoing additional training in Health & Safety, First Aid and mentoring. He has successfully competed at the highest level for over 20 years, but says he finds helping younger or new shearers achieve their potential one of the most rewarding aspects of his work.
- He takes on young shearers every year to help at his family-run seasonal contracting business and finds it hugely rewarding to help young people transform their skills from junior to senior or open level.
- A confident and friendly communicator, fluent in Welsh and English, Gareth is looking forward to combining his instructor’s role with British Wool with his latest role as a mentor for Farming Connect. Not only will he be happy to share his skills and expertise in shearing techniques, but you’ll also learn about his time shearing on massive sheep ranches in New Zealand as well as his experience of setting up a successful contract shearing business.
Current farm business
- Gareth farms at home in partnership with his wife on a 120 acre beef and sheep farm where they keep a flock of 400 Texel cross and small herd of bought in store cattle.
- The couple also run a shearing contracting business and employ two additional shearers throughout the summer months.
Qualifications/achievements/experience
- Gareth started shearing when he was 16, travelled to New Zealand to shear at age 17 and then, spurred on by the experience of ‘large scale’ sheep farming, he revisited the country a further seven times over the next 15 years.
- He started competing at the age of 17 and moved up to Open standard around the age of 19, winning numerous competitions including the Senior competition at the Royal Welsh Show in 2003.
- He won the prestigious Champion Shearer of Wales competition in 2005, 2009 and 2012.
- He has been a finalist in the Royal Welsh Show Open shearing competition twice and also competed in many Open finals throughout the UK.
- He represented Wales in several Test matches in the UK, Ireland and France over the years.
- He represented Wales in the Six Nations Shearing Championships as well as in the 2010 Golden Shears World Championships held at the Royal Welsh Show, achieving fourth individually and second as a team.
- Gareth is also a member of many show committees.
Tips for business success
“It’s essential to learn the basics and have the confidence and knowledge to handle each sheep safely and efficiently.”
“Always be friendly, polite and communicate with the farmers you work for or alongside, it helps build up trust and gets the job done.”