Author Topic: Fleece show (RHS June) (Read 3197 times)

Rosemary · « **on:** April 26, 2011, 02:26:17 pm »

Ryelands are a dual purpose breed. I know very little about fleece but fleecewife sugested that two good ways to find out about it is a) go to the CSSA Fleece workshop on 11th June (which I will) and b) enter a show.

So I've decided to enter fleeces for the RHS in June. I'm going to put Leo, my tup, into the Fine class and a couple of coloured ones, probably from two gimmers, into the Naturally Coloured class, so that I can get a comparison between the two.

Anybody any tips?

Feeling nervous already

doganjo · « **Reply #1 on:** April 26, 2011, 02:30:40 pm »

I think you probably feel the same way I did on entering my first dog show. Excited, terrified I got it wrong, wondering what else will be in the class, what will the judge's comments be - three weeks later Misty won 1st out of three first time out, and I was hooked for life - the rest is history as they say - good luck.

ellisr · « **Reply #2 on:** April 26, 2011, 02:38:07 pm »

Good luck Rosemary I would love to enter one of mine into a show but I think I have the dirtiest sheep ever. I even have one of last year lambs that I call scruff as it slipped in the winter and slid down a bank into the paddock and is a lovely dirty grey colour now and my Ryelands are naturally white. I normally see there real colour for about a week after shearing and then they all manage to find ways of getting really scruffy again.

Fleecewife · « **Reply #3 on:** April 26, 2011, 03:50:17 pm »

Hi Rosemary. I'm glad you are taking the plunge and entering RHS with your fleeces. Remember that the top fleece producers will be entering both those classes BUT as much as anything it's the marks you earn which count, not just a rosette. A rosette in one class may be awarded for points which in another class went to the fifth or sixth place - it's all relative. Also I will have a fleece in the coloured class and your Ryelands are sure to top my unloved Hebs

so you are sure to do better than someone ie me

I always get the comment ' good genetics' - now whatever does that mean? But it's fun to enter

Sometimes as well you will get spinners asking to buy your fleece, or buyers from Japan come round and buy what's there. This year the fleece competition is being revamped so I'm looking forward to something with a higher profile than in recent years.
Don't panic about preparing the fleece - the wool day is before RHS so you will know what to do in time. For Ryelands I would say set aside a day to work on each fleece - not the whole day, but after working on one you will want a break before you can face any more

Rosemary · « **Reply #4 on:** April 26, 2011, 07:26:14 pm »

I'm keen to improve my knowledge of fleece as it is an integral part of the Ryeland breed. I really just want to know what a "good" fleece is which is why I'm going to do the tup and two coloured gimmers with quite different fleece types. One, Nellie, is homebred, the other is bought in and has quite different breeding so I want to compare the two. As I reach my planned flock size, I need to decide what type of Ryeland I'm going to breed so that I can select accordingly- so I need to know about fleece.

Really looking forward to the June workshop.