COBDEN — Three of six 4-H sheep club members from Renfrew County returned home with some of the top hardware from the Royal Winter Fair Junior Sheep Show.
Samantha Austin of La Passe returned home with Ladies Lead and Wool champion for 2015 and a top 10 show person in the intermediate showing.
Kyla Ness of Cobden returned home as the Championship Intermediate Show Person and with the Young Associates Trophy.
Autumn McIntyre of Shamrock (near Renfrew) returned home as the Reserve Novice Showperson and with the Benlock Livestock Award.
In most of the classes, there were at least 30 competitors.
There were 120 participants in the Royal Winter Fair Junior Sheep Show, which is the largest group showing in a long time, noted Anna McIntyre, one of four 4-H leaders who attended the event with the young people. She said all lambs in the junior sheep show were breeding ewes, meaning there were no market lambs. 4-H leaders Lorraine and Brian Hamilton and Kathy Ness also attended the event with the club members.
The two members from the High Kickers Sheep Club in Renfrew and the four members from the Cobden Sheep Club who competed at the Royal were Samantha, Kyla, Autumn, Brynne Delaurier (Cobden), Brett Hamilton (Cobden) and Alexis LeGris (Shamrock). Alexis and Brynne were competing for the first time at the Royal.
“All the members did very well,” Ms. McIntyre said. “We were proud as all members participated as a team.”
She added that the Royal Winter Fair Junior Sheep Show is not just a 4-H sheep show, but each of the participants must have shown at a fair previously before attending the event.
Keith Todd was the showmanship judge. He is from the Todd Sheep Company, which he co-owns with his father in Lucknow. Ms. McIntyre said he is a meticulous judge.
“He was very honest with the kids, especially when the first group came in,” she recalled. “He told those showing ‘ if you show with your hand behind your back, or with both knees on the ground or if there is ink from tattooing and last if your lamb was wet, well, you better go find towels to dry it, or you will not make the cut.”
She explained that the tattooing should have been done long before the participants come to the Royal.
Ms. McIntyre said to make this judge’s cut, the participants had to have the ‘it’ factor — be confident, work as one with their sheep, present the animal to its finest and correct its weaknesses.
“Keith himself was in the open show and was very correct in showing his sheep,” she said. “He brings them to the ring well-groomed and looking their best.”
Mark Campbell from Wardville, Ontario was the confirmation judge. He was looking for the most correct sheep, which means it presented the breed character, was correct on its feet and showed great length and depth in the sheep, she explained.
To compete in the Ladies Lead and Wool, each participant had to be between 14 to 21 years old and had to have emailed in a biography.
Samantha and Kyla have each participated in the last couple of years. There were three judges, one for showmanship and presentation of the sheep; another for the outfit; and another judging the two-minute speech, Ms. McIntyre said.
“Samantha did an awesome job and was very clear on the microphone and sounded confident,” Ms. McIntyre said.
Along with earning a crown and sash, Ms. Austin will pin ribbons and hand out prizes at the 2016 Royal Winter Fair for the open and junior sheep shows.
Ms. Ness did very well in the Lady’s Lead, especially in the showmanship division.
She also showed in the open sheep show under her farm name, Kylacres, with her Dorsets and Southdowns. She did very well, placing first with her Dorset ewe lamb.
Helping her in the open sheep ring was Brett Hamilton and her father Jim. Along with showing, they helped get the lambs ready and looked after them all week.
