First Place:  3

Entry number: 560

Exhibitor: ers

State: Deleware

Sheep name/number: Barbie

Breed: Hampshire

In a top pair of extremely heavy muscled, well balanced correctly finished ewe lambs, I prefer to start the extermely big hipped 3.  Ideally, this ewe could be tucked a little neater through her breast plate.  Still, in comparison to a very comprable 4, she appears to be bolder racked, fuller through the center of her ribcage, deeper dropped in her flank, and much bigger out of her uppper dock, and I predict her to continue to grow into a lbs heavier more production oriented ewe.

Second Place:  4

Entry number: 565

Exhibitor: egphelps2

State:

Sheep name/number: McIllrath 9164 - Shelly

Breed: Hampshire X

Website: www4.ncsu.edu/~egphelps/project.html

4 is slightly shallower through her chest floor and plumper in the center portion of her leg, however she is somewhat more tubular in her design, and appears to be a smaller framed earlier maturing ewe.  Now in a contrasting middle pair, there is no doubt that she is a tighter hided, firmer, trimmer handling ewe that ties a longer, thinner neck into a smoother shoulder, is more shapely down her top and much more expressive through her center and lower leg, and should produce well balanced lambs with more showring look if comprably mated.

Third Place:  1

Entry number: 550

Some may prefer the broody look of 1, as she is a deep sided, bold ribbed maternal appearing ewe with a great deal of bone and shag on her legs.  In reality, 1 may have the most brood ewe potential in the bunch, but in keeping with combining show ring look with future production, she is somewhat coarse and plain in her makeup and lighter muscled than the top two.  I still use her maternal advantages to edge her over 2 in the bottom pair, she is bolder sprung, deeper sided, leveler and squarer out of her dock, and if retained in the flock would more than likely have a longer more productive life as a brood ewe.

Fourth Place:  2

Entry number: 558

Not to take anything away from the ewe with the birthmark on her hip.  She is extremely long bodied, elegant through her front end, above average in muscle volume and expression and would handle like a rock in which would easily bump her a place if evaluating for market characteristics alone.   Yet in reality, she is the hardest made, tightest ribbed ewe that pinches drastically at her hip loin juncture, is round out of her dock and simply the frailest made ewe of the bunch that would more than likely be the hardest doing ewe that would be least likely to concieve and rear multiple births if retained in the flock.