A PENRHYNCOCH sheep farmer impressed on the global stage after finishing third in his category at the World Shearing Championships in New Zealand last month.

John James, son of Penybanc farmer Alan James and wife Shan, had earlier made it into the final of the prestigious Southland All Nations Intermediate Machine Shearing Championship after seeing off shearers from Wales, England, Australia and New Zealand to finish first in his heat.

The world championships take place every three years and people travel from around the globe to test their shearing ability against the best in the business over three days.

This year saw the competition head to the Southland Stadium, Invercargill, on the southern tip of New Zealand’s south island.

Mrs James told the Cambrian News this week how proud she was of John, who travelled to New Zealand mid-November and will return on 16 March, and said his success could be down to some healthy competition with his two brothers, Llyr and Owain.

“There was point one of a second between him and the competitor in second, so he has done really well,” she said.

“He has got further competitions, such as the Golden Shears, and some local shows this weekend.

“All the boys are into their shearing. They do like to compete against each other. The boys do well over here in shows."

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