First Place:  4

Entry number: 593

Exhibitor: lm1668

State: OH

Sheep name/number: JB

Breed: Blackface X

I'm starting the class with 4. This lamb does not excite me from the profile as I can see his obvious faults including too deep fronted, too round at shoulder points, appears to break over the loin behind the shoulder, just average in length of side.  However, things change when viewing the lamb from the rear and in comparing him with the second place lamb, 2.  From the rear the first thing I notice is the extended neck with its correct placement. As I travel down the rack and loin areas I do not see evidence of a break behind in the shoulder.  This area appears to be wide and flat with depth at the loin edge.  I notice the long hip that does have a slight slope, but I feel this area will level out with maturity and additional weight.  I see a lamb that is square and wide through the pins with good depth of twist and possessing a large inside leg muscle with a bulge through the stifle.  I also notice the superior bone density of 4 compared to the other lambs in the class.

Second Place:  2

Entry number: 511

Exhibitor: Shootingstar

State: TX

Sheep name/number: 09 #9

Breed: Hampshire X

Website: www.starshowlambs.com

In placing 2 second, I will grant 2 does have a great profile with an extended neck properly placed on top of the shoulder and is clean at the shoulder points. However, she is also low at the loin edge and I feel this will only become more evident with age and maturity.  She is long and level in the hip.  I would call her moderate in depth of twist and I do not see the bulge through the stifle that I see in 4, the class winner. I would also point out 2 is light in bone and does not have the rib shape we are looking for in a market lamb or brood ewe.

Third Place:  3

Entry number: 512

At first glance I was going to place 3 second in this class based on thickness and depth of twist and leg muscle.  However, from the side 3 is just too short, is short hipped and slopes off the hip, is too deep chested and is a little too round at the points.  3 will hang a desirable carcass as a market lamb, however, does not possess enough style and balance to be a competitive show lamb at a competitive show.

Fourth Place:  1

Entry number: 494

I placed the fine wool cross ewe lamb fourth in the class.  If I just used the profile view to place the class I would place the lamb higher in class as the exhibitor surely is demonstrating show ring technique more correctly than the other three contestants.  With that said, when I compare lamb 1 from the rear view to the other three lambs in the class I cannot place her any higher.  Although she looks long and fairly level of hip from the side, she sure appears short of hip and really slopes off the hip more than the other lambs in the class.  This is sure apparent from her low dock set.  From the side her leg appears to come down deep toward the hock, but, from the rear that is discredited as she is extremely shallow of twist depth and lacks both inner and outer leg muscle. She is what we describe as lacking muscle in the lower third.  Due to the amount of wool below the hock and knee I would assume she is half Hampshire, however, if that wool was sheared you would see that she is too fine of bone.

Again, I placed the class 4, 2, 3, 1 with cuts of 2, 3, 2.