First Place:  4

Entry number: 519

Exhibitor: Shootingstar

State: TX

Sheep name/number: Level Up

Breed: Hampshire

Website: www.shootingstarshowlambs.com

4 is the combination prospect in the class, being longer necked and later maturing than his two contemporaries.   Sure he is not as stout constructed nor as wide based as 1, but I read him as being much later maturing and predict him to grow into a larger framed, more growth oriented ram that should inject more length and performance into his offspring.  In addition he is shallower through the floor of his chest, wedged shaped and progressively gets wider from front to rear.  As a bonus, he is a higher % hindsaddled ram who’s progeny should have more show ring eye appeal as well as hang carcasses with a higher % of consumer preferred cuts.

Second Place:  1

Entry number: 470

Exhibitor: TheDad1

State: MN

Sheep name/number: Mapmaker

Breed: Hampshire X

Website: my.pclink.com/~ddrewry/index.htm

1 is certainly the ram to start the class with if you need to improve base width and overall thickness in your flock.  Unfortunately, he is shorter necked, coupled and cannoned and thus I leave him second behind the more extended 4.  With these faults aside, the more Hampshire appearing ram of the middle pair is stouter constructed, leveler hipped, and simply more powerful than 3.  1 also appears fuller and squarer over his rack and loin, is deeper tying in his lower leg, and  has a more desirable set to his rear leg and hock.

Third Place:  3

Entry number: 497

For those needing to improve the rib design, hide and handle in their lamb crop, 3 is the logical choice.  The more Suffolk appearing ram simply gets outpowered by the top two.  Still he blows 2 away in the bottom pair with his design, eye appeal and structural correctness.  3’s neck ties much neater into a smoother flatter shoulder,  he is more nearly level down his topline, is leveler and squarer out of his dock and has more pop and flare to the center and lower portion of his leg.

Fourth Place:  2

Entry number: 495

Sure, 2 can add a great deal of performance and mass to a commercial flock, but in regards to club lamb production, he is extremely coarse made, heavy in all aspects of his front end, off in his dock and funnels from the top of his hip to the lower 1/3 of his leg.

Again a class where the top three work in a variety of ewe situations and could be used to improve most club lamb flocks across the country, but 2 should have been cut, sold with his brothers and that money put towards a good buck if trying to improve the quality of show lambs within a flock.