Piopio record breaking shearer, Sacha Bond.
No matter how gruelling a sport is on the body, the top two inches often make all the difference.
Piopio record breaking shearer, Sacha Bond. Photo Perkinz Farming Products
While Piopio shearer Sacha Bond is still competing – and winning – she’s looking to help the next generation keep their minds on the game.
“I coach athletes preparing for big events by building a strong, unbreakable mindset,” she says.
Through her business, Elevate League, Bond assists athletes in sports from rugby and rugby league to boxing and Aussie rules, in addition to shearers Alexia Phillips (Waikato) and Huw Jones (Wales).
“In competition shearing, you can have a huge audience, judges on top of you and other competitors right up your arse,” she says. “There’s a lot going on so you have to think fast. You have to let any setback go and be prepared for anything that comes up because it can only take seconds to unravel under that kind of pressure.”
Piopio record breaking shearer, Sacha Bond. Photo Beef and Lamb
Bond has applied the techniques she now instils in others.
She was the first woman to shear more than 700 strongwool lambs in a nine-hour session, setting a world record of 720, and she holds the women’s record (458) for shearing strongwool ewes in nine hours.
In November she won the women’s speed shear in her current home base, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, while Te Kūiti’s Jack Fagan won the men’s event.
Consequently, this King Country pair will represent the Wagga Wagga Speed Shear at the Royal Welsh Show later this year.
While Bond was back in Piopio visiting family over the Christmas break, she had no plans to compete again in New Zealand, at least not yet. However, through competitions in Australia and the UK, she has come to know Fagan well.
“Jack’s incredible. I had a lot to do with him and Toa Henderson in the UK last year. His preparation leading into these big events, the way he conducts himself and everything that he does as an athlete is pretty remarkable.”
Sacha Bond with daughter Ember. Photo: Beef and Lamb NZ
Defending Golden Shears champ, and Fagan’s test match teammate, Toa Henderson (Northland) is another who has his mind on the game.
“I think Toa’s amazing too. His mindset’s incredible. I think that he has a very high chance of being up there and potentially winning the Golden Shears again this year.”
As Henderson and some other top competitors prove, the King Country isn’t home to all of the best Kiwi shearers, but Fagan is in good company.
It’s not something in the water that sees the region well represented in top level competition, it’s because veterans are approachable and ready to share their knowledge, Bond contends.
“What I got when I was around the area was there’s a lot of knowledge passed down. I worked with Digger Balme – some of the advice he gave me really shaped the way I approached world records and competition shearing as well,” she says.
“If you’re in the King Country, willing to learn and you show potential to the likes of David Fagan or Digger, they’re more than happy to help you out.”
While David Fagan (Jack Fagan’s father) has retired from competition – with 16 Golden Shears wins to his name – Balme (Ōtorohanga) still shows the kids how it’s done from time to time, most recently by winning the Rotorua A&P Show Open in December.
While Bond says skill, experience, physical ability and technique are all important, the old guard displays how crucial the right mindset can be – their advice matters.
“Consistency builds confidence and knowledge is the key to consistency,” she adds. “So, if you don’t have the knowledge, find somebody that has and learn.”
Piopio record breaking shearer, Sacha Bond. Photo Perkinz Farming Products
