[Jacob-list] Jacobs at fairs in general

[2512 at nethawk.com]

Yvonne Hart wrote:

<Here in West Michigan, our fair is 98% club lambs-sound familiar?  My son took a Jacob out for showmanship, and was snickered at.  I was told by someone that fiber sheep showmanship is different from meat breeds'. It appeared to me that the judge (that openly stated she had no knowledge of the Jacobs)  was handling my son's sheep like she was checking its meat. How that was possible with a good three inches of wool on it, I do not know.  Is there a difference between fiber animal and meat animal showmanship?>

Hi Yvonne, 

We experienced the same thing last year, but this year, the second year my 10 year old daughter showed Jacobs, no one laughed at her.  Last year the crowd kind of chuckled at the extreme difference in  the sheep breeds, and the judge ignored her, but this year the judge commented on the soundness and excellent breed characteristics of her ewe lamb (which is Tritan's daughter), and also that she had done an excellent job of getting her lamb fit and groomed for the class.  She placed 2nd in showmanship and got Grand Champion in breed class--but she was the only Jacob.  The judge did say she had a very nice lamb though, even though she was the only one.  The neighbor --Matt McCarthy , who is also a member of this list and avid Jacob collector.... chickened out at the last minute, but he may show next year, which would further promote the breed in our county.  Matt did buy a beautiful 2 horned ewe at MFF so he should have even more very nice lambs to show next year.

I think that you should hang in there, there are good judges out there that do appreciate the wool breeds.  They do check meat quality in wool breeds as part of the confirmation and breeding quality, but they shouldn't necessarily compare it with a meat sheep. They want to know how conditioned the lamb is regardless of the breed.

Bonnie

Bonnie and Herb Sutten ~** Sheepy Thyme Farm**~Edmore, Michigan~**~
Llamas, California Variegated Mutant Sheep &  Natural Colored Romeldales
Jacob & Shetland Sheep, French Angora Rabbits,  ABCA Border Collies

http://www.agdomain.com/web/sheepythyme/ ** email: sheepythyme at nethawk.com






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