I've been busy

Very busy. Showing sheep and my horse, etc etc.

This past weekend was the Bolton Fair. Our very local country fair. I took along my ram and my two ewe lambs to show. My new ram Rad (Horseradish) did wonderfully winning his Junior ram lamb class, and then going on to win Champion Shetland ram at the show.

Eleanor and Eliza entered the ring, forgot their halter training, and promptly threw themselves down on the ground. My poor son had a terrible time keeping Eleanor on her feet, although even with this she did manage to second, and the smaller Eliza did alright and came fifth. Overall very nice and promising for next year. They're not standing well in this picture, but at least they are on their feet.

I did manage to squeeze in some time to watch events. I saw some very cute animals.

Oh, and we added 3 animals to our ever growing family. My son purchased a very young guinea pig (no picture yet) that he has called Teddy Bear. And my partner and I finally bought rabbits. So this is my rabbit Julius.

And my partners rabbit Octavian. We seem to have a Roman theme going on. A proper cage is on it's way.

I also managed to take my horse Muppet to NEDA's fall schooling show. Here's one of the proofs from the event. We also got Reserve High Score with a 68.75 which made me so proud of my horse. Time to start learning the Training level tests.

After all of this, I feel a little like Marcus my puppy.

So what have you been up to?

Bolton fair report

Wow what a weekend!

The Bolton fair went from Thursday to Sunday this year, a new 4 day idea. I had to be there Saturday, and Sunday with my sheep staying overnight. Saturday I was by myself and that was the main Shetland show day and featured breed demonstration. Sunday was other breeds and the best in show classes.

On Saturday I loaded up Sunny, Cammie, Jacqui, and Daisy Mae (who was just going to watch), and drove the 20 minutes to the fairgrounds. I managed to get 2 pens that were in the shade, although the temperatures were in the high 80's and low 90's both days, and settled everyone in. I met fellow competitors and sheep fans, and found out the breed featured class was at 1pm with the show classes taking place after that. 

There were over 50 Shetlands at the show which was really great. The breed feature went really well, there were 6 or 7 breeders (myself included) and we all did a part of the talk. We covered breed history, conformation, colors and markings. I talked about conformation, and we had several sheep in the ring that people could come up and feel so they understood what to look for. We managed to represent 11 of the colors and quite a few markings. People really seemed to enjoy the chance to pet our sheep. I was so impressed with how the sheep behaved as they were in and out of the ring for much of the hour. Sunny still managed to wag his tail everytime he was petted. I think serious consideration should be given to a Shetland with the waggiest tail class lol!

After the demonstration/featured class, the actual show began. There was a large yearling ram class which I am proud to say Sunny won. We did not win champion ram, but I was happy to win the yearling ram class with him. 

Then Cammie was in a huge yearling ewe class of maybe 16 other sheep which she won, she then went on to win Champion ewe. 

Jacqui placed a very respectable 3rd in another large junior ewe lamb class, the judge said she liked her fleece a lot but also said that white does not do as well against the colors. I was still very happy with her and think she will do well next year. 

Outside of the ring I had managed to get Gypsy's  fleece skirted for the wool show. I entered natural color and won. The fleece also went on to win best in show. Wow. 

Sunday started hot. The sheep all got admired throughout the day. I encouraged young children to pet the sheep and feel Sunny's horns, and give out the occasional animal cracker. He was such a good boy and always had a little wag of his tail. Daisy Mae spent the weekend with her head in the hay bag lol, but did get admired a lot in the featured breed class where she showed off her flecket markings. 

Cammie competed in best in show but did not win. It is hard for shetlands to compete against meat breeds, but I think the judging over the 2 days I was there was very good, and the shetland judge on Saturday was excellent.

Overall it was an amazing weekend. I met some really nice people. Got helped a lot on Saturday by some great 4H er's and really couldn't be happier. Below is a picture of what I bought home from Bolton. It's actually missing the best in show fleece rosette (I couldn't find it Sunday). Still I think it's impressive. Nadine (at Painted Knoll) you can be proud too as you bred them :)

Now I need to unpack everything and relax. Thank goodness it is Monday lol.

Sheep spa day

Today it was the turn of the sheep to be hosed off for the show. They still have a mild shampoo (for faces etc)  and hoof trimming on either Tuesday or Thursday but this was just to get off the dirt. Sunny stood like a pro and actually seemed to enjoy it. He's been butting heads with Dreamer though, and has managed to chip part of his horn. Hopefully that's ok.

Cammie was not happy about it, but I was so happy with her leading and standing that I didn't mind.

Jacqi looked like drowned rat until she had a good shake.

I also thought people might like chicken pictures. So here is Annabelle the rooster, he got out of the coop this morning all by himself. He was supposed to be a hen but has done a few funny crow things and has a very red wattles and comb. The name Annabelle has stuck though.

And Rosalie our alpha chicken.

And a few of the girls' enjoying some corn from the cob.

This is the spaghetti squash plant that is taking over everything.

All-in-all a beautiful day.

It finally feels like summer.

I'm back

Well just about. Surgery went very well and the doctor discovered the source of the problem was in her own words "a huge bone spur, and more bursitis than I'd ever seen before." Today I had my second session of physical therapy and can get a full range of movement (as long as someone else moves my arm), and there is less swelling there now than before the surgery. Unfortunately I can't really use my arm much and am forbidden to pick up anything heavier than a dinner plate in it for a few more weeks. I just want to know when I can start riding again and mucking out.

Anyway the show must go on. So halter training began today for the sheep going to the Bolton Fair. This years fair is a big deal, the featured sheep is the Shetland and I have been asked to talk about conformation. I'm using the NASSA site but any more information would be gratefully received. 

Here's Jacquith showing her pose for the ring. It's only her first time being lead and she actually got the hang of it near the end.

Cammie is a pro, but needs work on standing still in position.

Sunny was a little rambunctious, but again got the hang of it and managed well.

Oh, and the chickens are growing wonderfully. Here's Christina one of my silkies looking adorable.

Tomorrow I am visiting Muppet. If the weather is nice I'll take my camera.