First Place:  1

Entry number: 1006

Exhibitor: DonD1

State: MN

Sheep name/number: Dagger

Breed: Hampshire

Website: http://myplace.frontier.com/~don.drewry/index.html

Although both 1 and 3 are excellent prospects, I believe a breeder can use 1 on a wider variety of ewes than 3, therefore, I’m starting the class with 1. In placing 1 at the top of the class I am granting that 1 does not appear to be as thick over the rack and loin or as heavy muscled as 3, however, I would like to point out that 1 does not carry as much condition as 3 which makes him appear to be lighter muscled.

1 has an excellent profile starting with the long neck correctly placed. 1 is extremely balanced with a slight elevation of the chest floor that makes him extremely clean in the front shoulder. He is clean in the brisket and very correct at the shoulder points, all very valuable traits in a stud ram. I would call him medium plus in frame which is good because I believe the pendulum needs to swing a little in that direction. He is very correct in rib design and full in the flank. He is adequate in bone and stands very correct on his feet and legs. I am of the opinion you can breed them too large boned as that takes away from dressing percent.

From the rear he is correct in his rack and loin shape considering he is not overly conditioned. He is both wide and square at the pins, deep in the twist and shows good testicular development. He’s just a real good prospect.

Second Place:  3

Entry number: 1108

Exhibitor: Tripjsheep

State: UT

Sheep name/number: F2903

Breed: Crossbred

Website: www.triplejclublambs.com

In placing the meaty muscular 3 second in the class I can understand if you started the class with him. If your ewe base is medium plus in frame size, you would be correct in using him over the first place 1. However, from my prospective from the profile I do not see the neck extension that I see in 1, and, this translates to the fact he is not as long sided as the first place ram lamb, 1. I will grant he is extremely well balanced, but, again, I want to point out he iis not long sided. He is really correct in shoulder depth for a power type ram, clean in the brisket, very smooth at the points and he is level in his top line. He does have the proper shape to his rib cage and his flank depth is desirable.

From the rear he is wide and flat over the rack and loin, square in the pins and has depth of twist and excellent testicular development. Lined up on ewes that compliment his body type he could produce very marketable lambs.

Third Place:  2

Entry number: 1015

I’m placing 2 third in the class. From the profile he does have extension of neck, however, I would like to see it more squarely placed on top of the shoulder. He is balanced and fairly level in his top line (I believe the hump in his back is due to the way he is braced). He is very clean in the shoulder, brisket area, and smooth at the points. I would call him medium plus in frame because of the length of his canon bone. He does have rib shape and although he cuts up a tad in the flank, with added condition he should fill out in this area.

From the rear I would like to add width to the rack, the loin, and his base. He pinches at the pins and is moderate in twist depth. I would like to see more testicular development. He does stand correct on his feet and legs. With added maturity and condition he will exhibit more muscle, however, he will never produce as marketable of lambs as the top pair of ram lambs in this class.

Fourth Place:  4

Entry number: 1164

In dropping 4 to the bottom of the class I do so because of his incorrect skeletal structure. Because of his massive forearm I would have placed him third in the class, however, because of his short sloping hip, the extreme roundness at the points, he falls into the fourth slot. Would I personally use him as a breeding ram? No, because of his structural flaws, sloped hip, roundness at the points, flaws that are almost impossible to breed out, he will pass these undesirable traits on to his progeny.

Again, I placed the class 1-3-2-4 with cuts of 2-7-2. Let the discussion begin...OG