SHEPHERD Richard Pullin is looking forward to the Royal Bath and West Show - and its sheep shearing contest.

Mr Pullin, 57, who lives with wife Carol at Abbotsbury, is a leading sheep shearing expert and judge.

He can remember learning the art from his father at the age of 13 - and his children Stuart, 30, and Tracey, 24, have followed in his footsteps as contract sheep shearers.

Mr Pullin's other son Ben, 32, also grew up with sheep shearing although hasn't followed it as a career.

The Royal Bath and West Show (RB&W) at Shepton Mallet is the country's premier sheep shearing contest with full-time shearers among 100 competitors from around the world taking part in different classes over two days.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of first sheep shearing competitions to be staged at the annual show which, in 1928, was held at Dorchester.

Mr Pullin, whose judging duties this year include agricultural shows in Yorkshire and Devon, is involved with the British Wool Marketing Board, as an instructor and judge.

The board was instrumental in successfully setting up training for British shearers and standardising the discipline.

Mr Pullin believes that some of the shearers in this country are now as good as the best in the world, particularly those from New Zealand.

Mr Pullin says that shearing is hard work but very satisfying - and compares it to running in a marathon.

The top shearers can go through 300 animals in a day and the world record holders can shear a sheep in 35 seconds.

Some shearers follow the animals around the world - going overseas, particularly to New Zealand.

Mr Pullin says the secret to success in sheep shearing is knuckling down to hard work and practice.

Mr Pullin works at Middle Farm at Abbotsbury for the Ilchester Estate, which usually supplies the sheep for the Royal Bath and West Show.

The RB&W is the leading competitive sheep shearing centre in the country.

The first World Sheep Shearing Championships took place at the society's Bicentenary Show in 1977 and shortly afterwards it was the RB&W, representing the UK as a whole, together with its New Zealand and Australian counterparts, that formed and wrote the constitution of the Golden Shears World Sheep Shearing Council, for which the Society still provides the Secretariat.

The winner of the RB&W's English National Championship is an automatic member of the two-man English team for the next Golden Shears.

The then Earl of Ilchester was the first President of the Bath & West - Dorset was one of the founding counties - from its formation in 1777 to 1780.

There are regular courses for people to learn about sheep shearing, including one in Abbotsbury on May 10 and 11.

Call Alison Gould on 01392 477944 for more details and to sign up.