First Place:  2

Entry number: 1402

Exhibitor: JTheisman19

State: CA

Sheep name/number: Andy

Breed: Hampshire X

Website: www.pavletichclublambs.com

In a challenging class of heavier weight market lambs, I found the 2 wether to win rather easily. For me, he is simply the highest quality, most fault free sheep in the drive. Even though he could blend his shoulder in smoother as well as come squarer out of his pin setting, I still find him to give us the most dynamic and athletic appearance from the side. He is a longer fronted wether whose shoulder sits in at a more functional angle. The two wether is more elevated at the base of his chest, and from there he progressively deepens back into his rear flank to give him that trendy club lamb look we all like to see. I also appreciate how level he comes out of his dock, and plants with a rather attractive set to his hind leg. I am not going to try and tell you he is far and away the heaviest muscled sheep in our class, but he is certainly one of the more powerful sheep in the drive. The 2 wether is a really nice sheep to go ahead and begin the class with.

Second Place:  4

Entry number: 1434

Exhibitor: RockHollow

State: PA

Sheep name/number: #61

Breed: Hampshire X

Website: www.rockhollow.wix.com/lambs

In a challenging bottom trio of sheep I decided to leave the 4 ewe in second. She is a fresher appearing ewe and is impressive when you study her from behind. She works more volume and shape to her inner thigh and outer stifle. When compared to the blue tinged wether behind her, I read her being more relaxed in her spine, more level from hooks to pins, and stouter in her skeletal makeup. Given her added freshness and muscle expression, I would expect her to have a more desirable handle. If I wanted to change her up, I would like to see her shoulder laid back, her neck attach higher onto the point of her shoulder, as well as her chest floor being neater and more elevated. I also wouldn’t disagree with those who question how long she measures out of her hindsaddle.

Third Place:  1

Entry number: 1342
Exhibitor: 2TLivestock
State: NE
Sheep name/number: Bummy
Breed: Suffolk

The blue tinged wether that comes to us in third is powerful in his own right. He is wide in his pins, deep in his twist, and offers a bulging look to his inner leg. He is also a large statured, later maturing wether. For me, the reason he is in third today is because of his skeletal organization. He gets straight through his shoulder, high in his spine, round out of his hip. He is also a wether I would like to shallow up at the base of his chest in relation to his rear flank. He stands ahead of the 3 ewe today because he simply views with more skeletal width and muscularity. He is opened up wider through his chest floor, and definitely works more dimension and shape from behind. I could understand where someone could come in and switch this pair, and truth be told I went back and forth between these two sheep a number of times.

Fourth Place:  3

Entry number: 1409

The three ewe is another large statured, heavier weight sheep who is actually bolder through her forerib than the sheep that stand directly ahead of her. To further compliment her, I prefer her skeletal organization more so than the blue wether and that is what made the decision so challenging. However, as I study her further she appears to be getting a little extra added maturity to her as evidenced by the coarseness of her neck and lack of muscle expression and shape when studied up high. She does lay in flatter and smoother through her shoulder and I like that about her, but also wants to close up the most underneath in her foundation. From behind, three reads the flattest through her inner and outer leg. So for me, I leave her to round out the class.