Ewe Lambs 0-4 Months

First Place: 3

Entry number: 225

Exhibitor: wuvewes

State: IA

Sheep name/number: 8313

Breed: Crossbred

Lamb 3... I would project this young ewe lamb to be medium plus in frame. From the profile I sure like her neck extension and neck set. She appears extremely clean in the brisket area and correct at the point of shoulder. I would not want her to show any more depth of shoulder, however, I would not call her too deep. In thick meaty sheep you will have a little depth. I sure do like her straight and level top and bottom lines; really balanced. Notice how long she is in her hindsaddle and long and level she is in her hip. Notice her great substance of bone. From the profile, she really gets my attention. From the rear I notice how her neck blends in smoothly with the top of her shoulder. I notice how wide and square she appears to be over the rack and loin and I notice how she gets progressively wider as I slide my hand down her rack and loin (in my mind). Notice how square she is through the dock and pins. Notice her depth of twist and how she flares through the stifle. I project her as being structurally correct, square topped, wide and flat over the loin with excellent depth, long and level hipped, and really balanced. When I see her walking in the pasture she will command my attention. I like her a lot.

Second Place: 4

Entry number: 241

Exhibitor: Ladyshrops

State: OR

Sheep name/number: Rihanna

Breed: Shropshire

Lamb 4... Rugged individual? Yes! Medium framed, level top and bottom lines, however a tad too deep through the shoulder. Really clean in the brisket area, but, a little too rounded at the point of shoulder. Just average in length of side. I do see her as being long and fairly level in the hip. She stands on excellent substance of bone. She gives the appearance of excellent dimension of the stifle muscle and good through the lower third. From the rear she appears to be pretty thick and square over the rack and loin and she does have excellent depth of the loin muscle. She is more than acceptable in squareness and width of pins and she has good depth of twist. Her main weakness for me is a little too much depth of front, a little too short sided, little too round at the point of her shoulder. I do believe she will make a good brood ewe and bred to a clean fronted, long sided ram she can produce really good lambs.

Third Place: 1

Entry number: 192

Lamb 1... I see her as medium framed. I see her as having a rounded point of shoulder. I do see her as being balanced. I see her as having a long hip that does slope. I see good substance of bone and plenty of depth of twist with more than adequate muscle. I see her as being a productive, functional brood ewe. I do not see her as having a lot of natural eye appeal.

Fourth Place: 2

Entry number: 204

Lamb 2... I see her as being large framed, especially when considering the length of canon bone in relation to her age. Although she looks to be clean in the brisket area she appears to be a little deeper through the shoulder than she does through the hip. She is extremely long from flank to flank, or, as we say, "long sided." From the side she does look weak over the rack, especially at the end of the rib cage. She does look extremely long in length of loin and length of hindsaddle. She is long hipped, but, she really slopes off the hip and dock. From the profile, she really looks flat in her outer leg (stifle) area with very little depth of muscle, especially in the lower third. She appears narrow in the pin set and looking from the rear she looks to slope over her rack and loin. I like for brood ewes to be wide and square over the rack and loin with a long level hip and square through the dock. From the side she does not exhibit any depth at the loin edge.

Now that I have summed up each individual lamb, gone over their strengths and weaknesses, it's time to place the class. I placed the class 3, 4, 1, 2 with cuts of 2, 6, 2. Now, let's hear some comments...