A wool sheep should never be judged as a market lamb!

[aggieterpkatie]

Well, even in wool classes body structure should be judged, since you want a good quality sheep that can produce more good quality sheep. However, if he was measuring loin and leg and stuff, that's not quite right. I would maybe speak with other breeders and see if you can get a group of people to complain, and maybe the fair people would listen. Is it this way every year? Maybe they just couldn't find a good judge and had to settle? :/

 

[TexasShepherdess]

I agree with Aggie..sometimes a round of voices and opinions ring true-er then just one..

I would be calm and factual about the whole event..I know with our local livestock show, the organizers DO work hard to put on a good show..but they need input from the exhibitors on if the judge did a good job..and the more "opnions" they get, the better.

 

[TheSheepGirl]

The problem is that the sheep officials have been the same people for 20 years and feel like they know everything, so when all of us tried to talk to them they took it as a threat and simply didn't listen. Plus they have never even handled a wool sheep, so they would not have noticed the mistakes in judging them. We aproached them very calmly and liberally, but they felt they knew best and just excused us.

This judge is one of the best judges in the state for meat sheep and since our county has a small number of wool breeds compared to meat breeds, the county hired a very excellent meat judge. Every sheep in 4-H with the exception of 2 south downs was a market project lamb. Sort of sad in my opinion.

A wool breed is judged 60/40, so body does play a part in the judging, however, nearly 20 more points are awarded to wool than to body structure. When judging wool sheep you at least have to look at the wool and mention its quality, crimp, luster, strength, and all the other qualities of good wool. A wool sheep with a good fleece and a poor body nearly always topples a sheep with a poor fleece and a good body structure.

It is always important to breed good, sound sheep regardless of the breed and purpose of the sheep. That is not what I am saying. I am simply saying that a sheep bred for wool and nothing else will not have a big, meaty, full boned body structure and shouldn't be expected to have that body type. A good wool sheep puts all of their energy into producing wool and will have very little meat on them because all the energy went into a nice big fleece and into producing a lamb.

I am also not referring to just the Fair's show and this particular judge, but the trend I've noticed in most meat judges recently.