Market Lambs 151+ lbs.
Judge: Gail Christian
Judging Contest Winners:
Under 15: bubbadude3, dm1668
15-18: Dustydivider
Over 18: ptr
Official Placing: 4, 3, 1, 2
Cuts: 3, 1, 1
This is an excellent class of Heavy weight market lambs. Each lamb in the class brings different traits to the table. If you just judge on style, balance, and pretty on the profile, lamb 1 sure fits the bill. Lamb 2 possesses a lot of length . I sure believe he would look better if the profile shot had been taken showing the true side view rather than a 3/4 view. Lamb 3 is a hoss. A lot of power, however still balanced, but coarse in appearance. Lamb 4 combines the traits that a power judge looks for and still maintains style.
After close analysis of this class my biggest challenge is not what lamb to start the class with, but, which to close it with. (As a side note, in my 35 years of teaching livestock selection and coaching FFA livestock judging teams, I taught my students to look for animals with similar traits and type and arrange them in groups together, especially when judging market classes. That’s why when I judge you will seldom see me place two animals side by side that are vastly different in type and style. It’s what I refer to as being consistent with my placings.)
I see this class placing 4, 3, 1, 2 with cuts of 3, 1, 1. Now, to discuss the reasons behind the placing.
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First Place: 4
Entry number: 923 Exhibitor: ARlambs State: AR Sheep name/number: 1136 Breed: Natural Website: www.cgfarms.homestead.com |
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In all of my comments concerning market lamb evaluation, I’ve always stressed power with style and balance. For me to deviate from this would not be true to my selection consistency and I value consistency placing from a judge whether I personally agree with their placing or not. Lamb 4, on the profile has the long neck that I desire because it usually leads to rack and loin length, and, this long neck sits squarely on top of the shoulder and this leads to structural correctness. For a massive lamb in muscle and thickness, he still looks very acceptable in frontal depth and is correct at the points for this type lamb. When evaluating this lamb from the profile he is very balanced, including proper rib shape with fullness in the rear flank, levelness of top, with depth throughout the lower third of his leg. Yes, I would like to raise his dock a tad. Now when viewing this lamb from the rear, this is where he easily rises to the top of the class. You can see from the rear just how clean he is over the top of the shoulder and that the blades sit at the proper angle. He is wide and flat over the rack and loin and both of these areas have proper length and depth. He is square and wide at the pin set with tremendous lower inside leg muscle and bulge through the outside stifle. Furthermore, he is correct in feet and leg placement and dimension of bone. If market lambs have too much bone dimension it sure lowers their overall dressing percent. I have never subscribed to the big foot big bone theory. The bigger the bone, the lower the dressing percent. 4 is just a tremendous lamb to start the class with. Now, if a judge succumbs to the pretty theory, I doubt they will put him first in class.
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Second Place: 3
Entry number: 917 Exhibitor: ARlambs State: AR Sheep name/number: 1123 Breed: Natural Website: www.cgrarms.homestead.com |
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I believe of the remaining three lambs in the class, lamb 3 more closely fits the type of lamb I started the class with, therefore he will be placed second. 3 is massive! Too still be held together the way he is with a desirable finish at this weight is a testament to his breeding and how he was fed. I do see a difference in front and rear when comparing him to lamb 4, the class winner. He has a desirable length to his properly placed neck and he is balanced from the profile. No, there is nothing shallow about his frontal depth, however, he has the type front that would you expect on a lamb of his type. He is wide over the rack and loin and looks to have loin depth. The main difference between him and lamb 4 is from the rear. Although he has plenty of leg muscle I do not see as much inner leg and stifle bulge as I see in the first place lamb, and he’s a little more coarse in appearance than the lamb that won the class.
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Third Place: 1
Entry number: 820 |
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Now, to the bottom pair, 1 and 2. If I was placing the class strictly on style and appearance, 1 would be hard to get around because he is extremely stylish. On the profile I appreciate the long and properly placed neck and the levelness of the top line, especially the hip. He does appear to be a little deep fronted when comparing the front to the hip/loin juncture. I would like to see a little more shape to the rib with added fullness to the rear flank. He appears to be wide through the chest floor and brings this width to the rear. From the rear he appears to have width and flatness over the rack and loin, depth of twist, and squareness at the pins. I fully expect that several participants will start the class with this lamb, and will admit, upon my initial observation of the class, I was tempted to. He just doesn’t have the overall thickness and muscle as my top pair of lambs.
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Fourth Place: 2
Entry number: 912 |
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The lamb that places fourth in this class, lamb 2, would win a lot of shows that I judge. He is a pretty lamb with exceptional body length. I believe he would have looked more correct if the side view had been taken from the side rather than a 3/4 view. Yes, I know the 3/4 view really puts emphasis on body length, however, you also see this length from the rear view. He appears to be really balanced with a clean front, proper rib shape and fullness of rear flank. He does give me the impression that he is a little soft in his handle, and from the rear, I do not see as much depth of twist or lower leg muscle as the three lambs placing above him in the class. Again, I placed the class 4, 3, 1, 2 with cuts of 3, 1, 1. I believe this class was one of the more challenging classes I have placed since the beginning of the Online Sheep Show. I fully expect the placings to be all over the board and would be interested in how other participants saw the class. Thanks to the exhibitors for the excellent lambs presented in a correct manner for consideration in the judging of the class. I hope that each of you had a great Thanksgiving holiday. OG
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