Wednesday, August 8, 2007

4H Fair - Jen



Our Niagara County fair was July 31st - August 5. Our show was at 5:00 on Thursday night, temps were in the 90's and humid. Not the best conditions for dragging lambs around a ring, but they did great. We had a great support group this year, which really means a lot to us. Grandma Doris, Katie, Grandma Johnson, Shari, Lindsay and Tanner all came to cheer the boys on. Shari had at least an hour drive to get here, after a full days work. Can't adequately express our gratitude for the support.


Picture above is Will and Poppy in Jr. Showmanship. Far left, as if you couldn't tell.


For the costume class below, Andrew was Darth Vader and Heather was a Jedi something or other. Will is the wolf and Poppy is Lil Red Riding Hood.


Its hard to describe the mixed feelings we have for our fair. Its great for making friends, showing off our lambs to fair visitors and educating people about shetland sheep. I am so inspired by 4H animal science children - v. hard workers and so motivated. I brought my wheel, and spent practically the entire time spinning, stopping every so often to pat the head of Poppy or Heather when they popped their heads through the pen slats to see what I was doing. Poppy was showing off - wagging her tail whenever anyone pet her. I carded and spun an entire grey ag fleece and got a good start into a second moorit fleece. The kids were making friends left and right and cruising the barns to keep tabs on everyone and their animals. On the down side, I wish there were more fleece breeds at our fair (we are the only ones). It would be nice to have more competition, and it would be nice to have a judge that is excited about fleece breeds. Other side of the coin is we are really a novelty and get a lot of attention, which is really fun and rewarding.


3 comments:

Michelle said...

Thank-you from the rest of us Shetland breeders for going out and promoting our great little sheep, even if the judge isn't impressed!

sheila said...

I just went thru a similar experience at our county fair. We were the only wool breed there. It is a very mixed reaction..people think the Shetlands are cute and the kids all flock around..well..my flock! The judge had a hard time at first knowing what to do with them and he scratched his head more than a few times..It was a fun week..keep showing!! I love the costume class..I've never seen that before!

Katie said...

It was exciting watching, I tell ya. Hot and smelly!! :)