First Place:  4

Entry number: 720

Exhibitor: AnExhibitor

State: TX

4 easily wins the Southdown Ewe class.  She best combines structural correctness, muscle and rib design in a well balanced, stylish package.  Ideally the class winner could be tucked up more in her chest floor, however with this fault aside, she is a leveler topped and hipped lamb that is more ideal in her rib shape and has more internal capacity than 2.  Most importantly, her square upstanding rack ties neatly into the top of her shoulder, she is fuller and flatter over her loin edge, and dominates in terms of leg score, thus leading me to believe she would pass more overall muscle and showring appeal to her offspring.

Second Place:  2

Entry number: 509

Exhibitor: zena

State: NC

Sheep name/number: 110

Sure, 2 is longer necked and extremely long sided. Unfortunately she lacks the muscle mass of the class winner so she is second.  Still, in a relatively close middle pair, I choose her added length, extension and levelness of dock to edge her over 3.  2's neck ties in neater at her shoulder, she is longer from her twelfth rib back and appears to be a larger framed, later maturing ewe that would produce more modern looking Southdown lambs than the more conventional 3.

Third Place:  3

Entry number: 510

I’ll be the first to admit that 3 has more curvature to a deeper sweeping rib cage,  still she is more non-descript in her muscling, and off in her dock, so she is third. 

In a logical decision of the bottom pair, 3 is still later maturing, tighter hided and more correct in her body condition than 1.  In addition, she is more up-fronted, cleaner shouldered and smoother patterned, and should produce lambs that are faster growing and able to better maintain their trimness to heavier weights.

Fourth Place:  1

Entry number: 117

1 obviously has some added width and volume, however in reality much of that comes from the fact that she is the heaviest conditioned.  As well, she is bold shouldered, coarse in her make-up and the least feminine ewe, so she is last.