Warooka’s John Dalla had another successful showing at this year’s World Shearing Championships across Thursday to Sunday, June 22-25.

An 11-time national title holder, Mr Dalla finished this year’s competition, held at the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh, Scotland, with a fifth place in the individual event and fourth in the teams event.

“It’s a combination of quality and speed shearing and it’s held every three years,” he said.

“The results were brilliant for me considering the sheep we were using.

“There’s nothing similar to the sheep in Scotland here in Australia, so it’s actually really difficult to train for.

“But because I’ve been to Scotland and the United Kingdom to shear four times now, I’ve had a bit of practice, which does make it easier.

“In the teams event we were 0.2 of a point, the equivalent of about five seconds, off being third, so I think that says a lot about how tight the championship was this year.”

Mr Dalla, who operates Orrie Cowie Merino, Poll Merino, White Suffolk and Suffolk Stud, said he relishes the opportunity to perform on the world stage.

“I absolutely love it, to try and pit yourself against the best in the world is a really rewarding process and you gain a lot out of it,” he said.

“You get to have a chat and make connections with people from all over the world, something I learn a lot from.

“Of course, if you do strike up a connection, then you’ve got world class shearers you know right across the world.”

Mr Dalla is now preparing to compete in the national championship, to be held in Jamestown, South Australia, in late October.

This article appeared in the Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 18 July 2023.