Laura Bradley has never shied away from defying other people’s expectations. Being advised not to become a shearer as a teen only made her more determined – and today she’s one of the top female shearers in the world.
But despite breaking barriers and paving the way for women in the industry, Laura insists she’s never wanted to be known for her gender – only for how well she can shear.
“When I started, I never thought of myself as a female shearer,” explains Laura, 29.
“And it’s still the same now. I’m just a shearer because I can do it the same as a man.”
Laura well and truly proved that last November at the Wairarapa Spring Shears. She was believed to be the first woman to reach an open grade shearing final in the North Island – and one of fewer than 10 women worldwide to do so. Open grade is the highest level of competition, featuring the fastest and most skilled professional shearers.
“Being my first year in the open grade, no one really saw me as a threat. Then I made two open finals and now they kind of keep an eye on me,” she laughs.
Growing up on her family’s sheep and beef farm near Woodville, Laura was happiest outdoors and always knew she’d end up working on the land.
She was about 10 when her dad Wayne Bradley finally gave in to her repeated requests to teach her how to shear. With a few tips, he sent her to the end of the shed with a handpiece to try and “get the wool off”.
Laura was hooked.
She recalls, “I think it was the sense of accomplishment, knowing, ‘I’ve done it. I can do it and I can do it again.’”
Proving the doubters wrong
But not everyone was enthused. Laura still remembers the advice of one shearing gang who’d come to help out on the family farm, when, as a teen, she told them she planned to become a career shearer.
“They turned around and told me, ‘Don’t do it. Do something else.’ And, of course, if you tell me not to do it, I’m going to do it even more! “I think they look at a female – and they probably don’t mean to – but they just think we’re too soft. We might be soft-hearted, but we’re pretty stubborn. We’re not going to go down without a fight.’”
Now no one under-estimates Laura. In 2024, she was the top-ranked senior shearer (the grade below open) in the country and became the first woman to win the New Zealand Shears Senior title.
Outside the show circuit, Laura shears seven days a week through the busy summer season, works as a sheep pregnancy scanner during winter, and helps run her family’s lamb and beef fattening block, where she and partner Cam Henson, 28, and their son Marshall, three, live.
She’s exceptionally busy and when the Woman’s Weekly talks to her, it’s late at night with Laura explaining simply, “It’s dark so I have to stop.”
Cam also has a fencing business and if Laura ever finishes early, you’ll likely find her helping him on the tools.
The family behind the champion
The couple first met as teenagers when Laura was shearing and Cam was a junior shepherd on the same farm. Today, he’s still by her side, not just her biggest supporter, but also her preferred pen-boy at competitions, readying the sheep exactly how she likes them.
“We complement each other really well,” smiles Laura, who features on this week’s episode of Hyundai Country Calendar.
“I’m probably more of the driven, focused work, work, work one… and he’s my rock. He’ll be the one to tell me, ‘Stop, you’re too tired. You need a break.’”
With Laura often leaving home before dawn and returning in the evening, Cam takes on most of Marshall’s drop-offs and pick-ups. It’s a relentless schedule, but one they make work together.
“He’s like my third hand,” she jokes.
There are plenty of goals left to chase, but if you ask Laura what drives it all, there’s no hesitation.
“Family is definitely my why,” she says.
As for the legacy she’d like to leave, Laura hopes it’s bigger than her wins. She wants the next generation of young women to see possibilities where others once saw barriers.
She enthuses, “It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes hard work and dedication, and you can’t take no for an answer, but I want to show it’s possible.”
Watch Hyundai Country Calendar, Sundays, 7pm on TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+.
