Local shearer Daniel McIntyre has added another Australian title to his name.
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McIntyre landed his fourth National Shearing Championship trophy, and second in-a-row, at the event in Perth late last month.
“I don't think it gets old, it is a pretty good feeling every time you win,” McIntyre said.
“I guess that is what keeps you going back, that feeling.”
The Championships also featured the annual trans-Tasman test against New Zealand which McIntyre and his Australian teammates, Jason Wingfield and Shannon Warnest, won as well.
The trio have been part of the winning Australian team for a number of years and McIntyre said they were “fairly confident” heading into the competition.
“We have been on a bit of a roll for a while,” he said.
“We have had the same team for a number of test matches now and we have only been defeated once in that time so we were pretty confident but you never know what happens sometimes.”
His first placing in the national competition also earned him a spot at next year’s World Shearing Championships in Le Dorat, France.
While he has competed for Australia in the trans-Tasman on a number of occasions, it’s been a long time since McIntyre has taken on the world titles.
The last was 2005 at the event in Toowoomba where the Glen Innes local finished second to Aussie teammate Warnest.
“I have been in the Australian team six times but that was the only time I went to the worlds because you had to make the top two,” he said.
“Every other year I was in the Australian team when the worlds were on I was third.”
McIntyre puts a fair bit of effort into competitive shearing.
As well as working in the trade full-time, he puts time in after work to be fit for competition.
“When I first started out training I probably overdid it but now I have toned back a bit and probably did three days a week leading up to it [nationals],” he said.
“You do upper body stuff one day, legs one day and then the third day would be yoga or deep stretching sort of stuff.”
McIntyre will have plenty of practice in the lead up to the World Championships in France.
“It will be a similar sort of preparation as far as the extra fitness goes,” he said.
“We will be shearing crossbred lambs in France but it won't be too bad because after Christmas around here we shear a lot of crossbred lambs until March-April so that will be pretty good preparation for it.
“Plus, we go to New Zealand for the Trans-Tasman test in early March next year.
“There are a lot of shows around at that time of year to practice on leading up to it and then we will have a state selection before we go over there.”