Courageous woman's journey from back injury to shearing shed glory

A few months ago, Nicki Guttler could not even put on her socks.

Now the 32-year-old may well be the first woman in the world to win two open sports shearing titles on the same day.

"We believe that it was the first time that someone, anyone in the world, has won both an open machine and open blade shear on the same day at this same event," she said.

"I'm still struggling to find the words. I feel relieved and stoked and proud; it feels like it's been a long road to get there."

Sports shearing has been in Australia since the late 1800s, and involves shearers competing against the clock to prove they are the fastest and most accurate.

Shearing was a skill passed on to Ms Guttler by her mother.

She began competing at school and in local agricultural shows, starting at a novice class and working her way up to the opens, defeating both men and women on her way to state and national titles.

But it proved to be back-breaking work.

"I ended up with bulging discs in my lower back, which were also compressing my sciatic nerve," Ms Guttler said.

"It pretty much [prevented] me from putting my shoes on, putting socks on, a battle to even get dressed.

"I could hardly walk from one end of the house to the other without having to sit down, but also sitting down hurt as well."

Two years into her recovery, Ms Guttler thought it was about time to pick the shears back up.

That decision was vindicated at the 150th Forbes Show, and as the final seconds ticked down in the open shearing final, Ms Guttler turned to her late grandmother for inspiration.

"I thought if I'm going to do it, it's going to be now and we're going to do it for Nana," she said.

She's a shearer

It was not the first time Ms Guttler had rewritten history.

She previously broke the eight-hour women's solo lamb record, shearing 450 lambs, and became Australia's first woman to win an open speed shear.

Being taught by her mum, and encouraged by her nana, Ms Guttler always called herself a shearer, "not necessarily a female shearer".

"There's definitely been a lot of challenges for me to get to where I am, a lot of doubts, a lot of undermining, underestimated," she said.

"People not believing that I would be capable of doing it or not thinking that a girl could achieve something like this."

Now, having achieved a potential world first, Ms Guttler said she was determined to support the women who might follow her lead.

"I just hope to keep carving the path for them so that other people believe in them rather than just seeing them as a young girl who's not capable of something," she said.

"So that they can just be seen as an equal shearer who is more than capable of holding their own."

World achievement for sports shear

Sports Shear NSW, the association behind the competition, said Ms Guttler's achievement sent waves through the shearing world.

"Open is the highest grade in our sport, so to see a female competitor win at that level is something we are incredibly proud to witness," treasurer Carla Boland said.

"Results like this are important because they show other women and younger girls that there is a pathway right through the grades and into open competition."

Shearing continues to be an industry dominated by men, with 2021 census data showing less than 5 per cent of the workforce were women.

But Ms Boland said that seemed to be slowly changing.

"We are seeing more women coming through and getting on the stands," she said.

"Milestones like this are something the whole sports shear community can celebrate.

"Hopefully Nicki's win is one of many more we'll see from female competitors in the years ahead."