First Place:  4

Entry number:  358

Exhibitor:  Lambquarters

State:  OH

Sheep name/number:  45

Breed:  Crossbred

Website:  www.freewebs.com/lambquartersfarm/

4 is the most logical place for me to start.  The ewe lamb is longer sided, leveler down her top, and appears to be the most ideal in terms of condition and muscling in the photos. She sure appears to drop in her dock in the photo from the rear, however due to how level she is on the profile and full through her upper dock, I feel it is due to shadows on the picture rather than a true structural fault.  This aside, however when we compare her to 1 she certainly appears to be bigger and bolder racked, fuller and flatter out through her loin and much fuller and plumper through her lower leg.

Second Place:  1

Entry number:  327

Exhibitor:  cindyfreed

State:  CA

Sheep name/number:  150

Breed:  Hampshire X

1 most closely follows 4 in terms of length, extension and levelness of design.  Unfortunately she pinches in behind her shoulders, is narrower racked, and plays out lower in her leg.  Still she is the longer sided and hindsaddled lamb of the middle pair, and appears to be much later maturing, thinner hided and firmer conditioned than 2.

Third Place:  2

Entry number:  332

2 is without a doubt a deeper twisted, thicker legged lamb that drops down better through his flank. Yet he is quicker patterned and earlier maturing than the two ewes and appears to be the heaviest conditioned and I predict would be the softest handling in class.  On the other hand when compared to the other wether, he is stouter in his bone, both bigger and more nearly level through his hip and longer and smoother in his muscle design.

Fourth Place:  3

Entry number:  339

Some may prefer the more tubular design of 3, however in reality this is the lightest muscled, frailest ribbed, lightest boned lamb of the class that is too round in his muscle pattern to place any higher in this group.

Thus, I like them 4, 1, 2, 3 with cuts of 3, 2, 2.