2008 PEC 4H Sheep Club Acheivement Day, August 17, 2008

Here are the three handlers and lambs that went to the Achievement Day from our place.

Here is Claire, with FFF C0riander. I love this lamb. Her fleece is to-die-for crimpy, all the way out to the tip, and consistent all over her body. She has a lovely soft face (Arcott golden sheen) and a very sweet small head (courtesy her Shetland sire). She was extremely well behaved. She placed 2nd in the fleece class, and 3rd in intermediate showmanship.


Here is Alison with FFF Rosemary. Rosie looked REALLY great at home this morning of the show, but didn't show well. She must have been a bit stressed; she looked like an old plug during the the fleece class! Her fleece isn't quite as nice as Corianders, although it's still better than any other fleece I've had on my property so far, and she is still very consistent. She's also a bit taller than Corrie. She got a third place in the fleece class, and Alison won Senior Showmanship with her (and Reserve Champion Showmanship later in the day).



This is Amanda, our neighbour, with FFF Peppercorn. It's her first year in 4H, and her first club. She goes to the kids' school, and Alison encouraged her to join the club. Alison spent a lot of time with her; she was a great student, and was also the first to dive in and help out with chores around here this summer. She wowed everyone at the show. She won first place in Junior Showmanship, AND won first place in the fleece division. The judge made lots of nice comments about her being and up'n'comer. (Now, I personally would not have placed Pepper first in the fleece class, however the judge used to breed Texels and put a heavier emphasis on conformation). Since Pepper has Texel in her lineage, and picked up the stocky body type of her sire, she was a shoe-in over the other fleece animals. BUT, her fleece is NOT consistent, not very crimpy, and VERY inconsistent with substantial britch hair. She's very much her mom's daughter when it comes to fleece. (Her mom, Jazzy, won the Market Lamb class at last year's show).



So yes, lambs from our place took top three spots in the fleece class. I REALLY didn't want that to happen; the judge made lots of encouraging comments about how our three lambs were in top-notch perfect showing condition; perfect weight, yada, yada ... but then went on to describe how the other lambs were not. She wasn't particularly tactful. I was a little embarrassed. The other lambs in the class were purebred Shetlands, and one could say that the difference was that Shetlands don't tend to keep condition as well ... except that last year the class was all Shetlands and our little girl, from a different judge, again was much more conditioned that the others.

So.

Somehow, on our measly 3.25 acres, we do something right! Certainly one advantage we have is that we ONLY have sheep, and the other farms have mixed livestock including goats. Goats are very dominant to sheep, and I've noticed when visiting these places that their sheep all look much more nervous. I expect that affects their condition. Or perhaps it's the soymeal treats we feed them ;-).

Here's a shot of the final showmanship class.


Here's a small portion of the obstacle course. Jeff put a lot of work into it! The kids had a lot of fun, and after the show, Alison actually took all three of our lambs in-hand and put them through it :-P.




And, one of my favourite photos from the day ... Farmer Kev holding one of the lambs. Voluntarily! Really :-).


A photo of the 2008 livestock club, missing a couple of members unfortunately!