Amy Silcock beat the world record for the women's solo eight-hour ewe shearing, in Pahiatua, with a strong crowd of onlookers, on 7 January 2024. Photo: Supplied
A shearing champion says stubbornness and determination to prove critics wrong saw her crack a world record on Sunday.
In a scorching Wairarapa woolshed, Amy Silcock sheared 386 ewes - smashing the 2022 women's solo record held by British farmer Marie Prebble by 16 ewes.
After waking up on Monday feeling like she'd been "beaten up", the 37-year-old said it was the physical and mental challenge that she most enjoyed.
"You've gotta go to the darkest places in your mind to be able to get through that," she said.
"When you're in so much pain and everything, and your body is saying stop, stop, stop, stop, stop.
"But that's the fun part for me, is when your body goes, 'Nah I don't want to do it anymore', and then your brain goes 'Shut up, we're doing this'."
Criticism after last year's unsuccessful attempt spurred her on to have another crack, she said.
"There was a lot of backlash of like, why did you choose those sheep, and why did you do this, and why did you do that?
"So I was just like, you know what? I'm going to prove you all wrong, so I'm going to get it."
Despite now being a world record holder, Silcock maintained there were better shearers out there.
"I'm not really that good at it," she laughed.
"Some people after year, will get a tally, you know, 200 or 300. And it took me forever.
"It's only in the last, honestly, two years that I've been like, 'Oh, I've figured it out now'. Yeah, I was a bit slow on the uptake."
Speaking to RNZ on Monday from the pub where celebrations continued with "a couple of neck-oilers", Silcock said it was "amazing" to have her closest friends cheering her on throughout the day.
"To be able to do something like that with all of your favourite humans by your side is awesome."
