ALED Jones, a 25-year-old agricultural engineering graduate, was brought up on his family’s 400-acre upland beef and sheep farm, Dolyfelin, near Builth Wells.
The third generation to farm there, Aled combines working full time alongside his parents with seasonal work as a contract shearer. Aled shears professionally across Wales and like many young people in the shearing industry has also spent time shearing in New Zealand.
While at Newton College Aled completed his first British Wool Training course and secured his Blue Seal. Since then he has attended further courses and has now achieved his Bronze and Gold Seals, at Hay on Wye.
Aled’s championship wool handling career began when he was 14 when he won the Novice competition at the Royal Welsh Show in 2009. He then progressed to winning the Open Championship in 2013 at the Royal Welsh Show, which secured him a place in the Welsh team for the World Championships in Ireland the following year. At those championships he and his team mate Evan Meinr won the team event and Aled came 5th overall in the individual.
Since then Aled has gone on to win the Open at the Bath and West Show in 2016 and the Open 2017 Wool Handling Championships. His aim this year is to secure a place on the Welsh Team to compete in the 2019 World Championships in France.
His one regret so far is not making the final in 2016, resulting in him missing out on securing a place on the Welsh team to go to World Championships in New Zealand. He adds “One tiny mistake can cost you majorly – a hard lesson to learn. You must give it 100% and concentrate!”
Aled is keen to continue to progress his skills, and if he could be given a Wool Handling lesson by anyone in the world he says it would have to be from Bronwyn Tango, Wales’ former world champion fleece roller. “Bronwyn has reached the pinnacle in the industry as an internationally renowned wool handler. She has an almost unrivalled level of experience and knowledge as both a competitor and a judge.”
Aled learnt his wool handling skills from his father Ioan. As a highly qualified shearing and Wool Handling Judge, Ioan has judged shearing competitions across England and Wales.
He says the best advice he has received came from his father: “He told me to always keep going as fast as you can!”
Colin MacGregor from British Wool, who organise shearing training courses, said: “Aled has gone a long way to achieving his goal as a wool handler, and he illustrates just how important handling is to the industry, and to shearing.”