In the sheep world, it is the equivalent of getting a free hair cut from Vidal Sassoon or Trevor Sorbie. The Golden Shears World Sheep Shearing Championships are being held in Gorey, Co Wexford, in May and the organisers must supply more than 6,000 sheep for the world's top shearers.
They have already secured the promise of 5,000 sheep but need at least 1,000 more. George Graham, who represented Ireland seven times in the world championships, is chairman of the host committee. He said not all sheep would be used, but they were needed to ensure that each class of competitors got almost identical sheep to shear.
Help from far afield
"Farmers are being very generous," he said. "We've got promises of help from as far away as Donegal. People are very supportive."
The competition needs female sheep, 12 to 14 months old and coming from breeds such as Texel, Suffolk and Cheviot.
Prices for these hoggets are strong at the moment so Mr Graham has urged farmers who have promised their sheep to withstand the temptation to sell them until after the event.
As well as having their sheep clipped for free, farmers will get several rewards for loaning sheep to the event, including bonus prices for wool, free products and tickets to the event.
This is only the second time Ireland has hosted the championships. Mr Graham was also involved in bringing the previous event to Gorey in 1998. The event begins on May 17th.
