[Fronhaul]

Looking for advice please if anyone has or is doing these.  We have entered one for the first time and I am really nervous about it.  How much preparation should I be doing?  Should I be washing the sheep who are entered in individual categories?  Will they be checking my management records and omg should I tidy up what passes for our medicine cupboard?  Or am I in a panic for no reason?  I have just over two weeks before the judges arrive.  A hundred questions and no idea what I have let myself in for.

[Blinkers]

Oh how EXCITING    Absolutely no advice I'm afraid but looking forward to hearing all about the preparations AND the results.   When do get 'judged' and by whom?    Ooodles of luck with it.

 

[Rosemary]

Tell us more about it. Who runs it and so on.

You'll be fine - whatever happens, look on it as a learning experience and build on it for next year  Good on ya' for entering.

[mmu]

I'd like to know more about that too.  We're not very good on advice are we?  I've a friend who might be able to help, will ask him this evening.

[Fronhaul]

This one is run by the Jacob Sheep Society and covers Wales.  They want to inspect every Jacob I have and they award rosettes for the best large flock , the best small flock and then prizes for individual animals and groups of animals.  The Judge is coming over from Ireland and he will be accompanied by the Field Officer for Wales.  The inspection of all the flocks takes place over 3 days so I suspect they won't spend a huge amount of time on each as they have a lot of ground to cover.  But needless to say the senior ram has gone lame, the best home bred ewe lamb isn't looking her best because I removed half the fleece from her posterior after she developed a mucky bum and so on.  All I know so far is the categories and the fact I will need to have all the sheep in the barn to save time.  Thank goodness I have enough straw this year.

I'm beginning to feel I may just have bitten off more than I can chew this time but it will be a learning experience.  I just wish I felt as at home with sheep as I used to with the family's South Devon cattle.  Mind it would still be a learning experience because you never do stop learning

[Rosemary]

So what are they actually judging you on? Isit like a show, where it is on the quality of your stock or are you judged on stockmanship, care of the animals and so on? If so, you should get extra points for keping your ewe lamb nice and clean and safe from flies 

Good luck and do let us know how you get on 

[Fronhaul]

Thanks.  I am meeting the people who win the large flock competition on a depressingly regular basis next weekend so I will pick their brains.  Looking at my crowd in the pouring rain this morning I fear tidying them up more than just a little will probably be no more than a pipe dream unless it stops raining soon.

[VSS]

Sheep never look at their best in the rain. If you need to have them in for the judges, try to get them in when it is dry - although that's difficult at the moment!

[Fronhaul]

Well the big day came and went today.  I was really surprised at the lack of questions about worming/ minerals/fluke etc.  Equally I think they preferred my ram lamb to my senior ram (I don't).  I think we are too new a flock to score high on uniformity but the inspectors thought my crowd scored fairly well there.  I like medium sized 2 horned Jacobs with lots of colour, one liked 4 horned sheep with lots of white, the other liked very large Jacobs.  The light went while they were here so most of the inspection took place under electric lights but on the whole my  crowd behaved themselves beautifully.  I don't think the results are announced until the Christmas dinner in December but I do at least feel that I can be a little bit pleased with the way things went.  I don't expect we will be very high up in the order but equally I don't think we have totally disgraced ourselves. 

[Rosemary]

Well done for taking part, regardless of the result. And hopefully, you'll get a pleasant surprise 

[Fronhaul]

Finally we were given the results today and I am over the moon.  Highly Commended and some very nice things said about the quality and typiness of the sheep.  Thank you to all those who who commented.  And bless my crowd I am so very proud of them.

[Blinkers]

Yippeee....well done Fronhaul 

[Rosemary]

See - told you so  . Well done, you

[Hazelwood Flock]

Very well done, enjoy the warm glow! 

[Fronhaul]

Thank you.  The warm glow is tempered with trepidation because apparently the Welsh Open Day is coming to us next year.    That is going to need all of my guys on best behaviour for an entire day not just the Jacobs.