Doug's Website
9 years ago I started shearing by going to the Cornell shearing school in Ithaca New York. I went back the following year, and these two introductory courses were the start of my shearing career. Doug Rathke was the head instructor back then, and he still is today. The 2011 course was held this past weekend, where I was privileged to be one of the assistant instructors. I really enjoyed teaching, helping beginners out. I understand their frustration because we all started there. It was rewarding to see people succeed with a little instruction after struggling without.
Doug is an amazing shearer, and an amazing person. He has many shearing accolades, including being the first American to receive New Zealand's Golden Seal (the top shearing recognition), many top finishes in national competitions, and many times representing the US in world competitions. He is a known figure in the shearing industry worldwide, but a very humble and down to earth man. He recently set a world shearing record, shearing a marathon 27 straight hours.
I had the chance to get to know Doug better this weekend, and I'm proud that he is my teacher and shearing mentor. I may get the chance to go shear with him in his home state of Minnesota in December. I would love to receive advanced training under him, and am excited about our future friendship.
9 years ago I started shearing by going to the Cornell shearing school in Ithaca New York. I went back the following year, and these two introductory courses were the start of my shearing career. Doug Rathke was the head instructor back then, and he still is today. The 2011 course was held this past weekend, where I was privileged to be one of the assistant instructors. I really enjoyed teaching, helping beginners out. I understand their frustration because we all started there. It was rewarding to see people succeed with a little instruction after struggling without.
Doug is an amazing shearer, and an amazing person. He has many shearing accolades, including being the first American to receive New Zealand's Golden Seal (the top shearing recognition), many top finishes in national competitions, and many times representing the US in world competitions. He is a known figure in the shearing industry worldwide, but a very humble and down to earth man. He recently set a world shearing record, shearing a marathon 27 straight hours.
I had the chance to get to know Doug better this weekend, and I'm proud that he is my teacher and shearing mentor. I may get the chance to go shear with him in his home state of Minnesota in December. I would love to receive advanced training under him, and am excited about our future friendship.
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