2006 SHOW REPORTS

These are the show reports from all the shows that the Broadfleet animals will be appeared in 2006.

Newark show 13th to 14th May - Broadfleet Tamworths

It all started with the usual scrub up on the Friday afternoon.  Baby shampoo all round and some lovely cold water to try and get our 2 sows and 2 gilts up to show condition.  unfortunately our 2 sows had been scrapping with their neighbours through the permanent stock fencing we have and their noses looked like they'd done 10 rounds with Mike Tyson..!  We decided to take them anyway and see how they did in the ring.

Saturday morning was the usual 5.30am start and then the task of loading our 2 sows into the trailer.  It was going to be 2 trips this year due to the fact that our trailer wasn't big enough to house all four pigs.  It soon became apparent that they didn't really want to go into the trailer and with one flick of the nose our sheep hurdle went flying and they both escaped into the mubby field.  All I could see was all that shampooing and preperation getting covered in mud.  Things were very fraught at this stage to say the least...!  Eventually though it was off to the show and they were finally locked safely into their pens at the showground.

Then it was off for the second two who didn't pose anything like the bother the sows had and they to were soon safely secured at the showground.

Later on in the afternoon the judging began.  I must say I didn't feel half as nervous as last year.  I'm hardly a 'seasoned campaigner', but I felt a lot more confident than last year.  It was soon our turn to enter the ring but no sooner had we got in than we were out again.  I'm not really sure why but our 2 sows and another pig were sent back to our pens.  The judge had obviously decided we weren't going to win anything so decided to reduce the numbers..!  The problem was that the same thing happened with our 2 gilts although they weren't sent out early in shame.  At least they stayed until the end..!

So a very disappointing show for us although our mentor, Bill Howes, won best show boar and will be off to the, 'Pig of the Year', show in York.  Well done Bill..!  Somehow that success seemed to smooth over our disappointment.

Anyway let's be positive and look to the future....

Here's to next year...!

Steve Anderson

Lincoln show 21st to 22nd June 2006 - Broadfleet Southdowns

The preperation for this show has gone back some 12 months.  Evere since we decided to take our shearlings to the show.  We have fed them carrotts, sugar beet and all manner of things throughout the winter and today all this hard work has paid off.

After a week off washing and clipping - our John Ramdall DVD has really paid off - our sheep were finally readied for the show.  It was funny, as we had no idea what to do regarding the clipping, to see both of us doing one stage and then running back to the lounge to watch the next stage on the DVD to see what we should be doing next.

Finally after 2 days of clipping our four sheep were ready and off we went to the show.  We never expected to what came next....

As normal we were very nervous but soon it was our turn to enter the show ring.  I had given my mother - Janice - the chance to do a bit of showing, so we let her loose with one of our ram lambs whilst Carolyn took the other.  We were showing our 2 ram lambs off against 10 other competitors.  It was Janices first time in the ring but she seemed to show no nerves although I'm sure they were there somewhere.  The judge gave us 2nd for Carolyns ram lamb and fourth for the one Janice had taken in.  It took a while to realise as there were 2 rings, one for MV registered sheep and then our ring.  They were all judged together so the judge had to do this strange thing of hopping from one ring to another.  To save him runing from one ring to the other when he handed the prizes out, all the prizes were handed out in one ring before he went to the other.  I thought we had finished 4th and 6th but when I saw 2nd we all just wanted to jump for joy. We were over the moon.  We just couldn't believe it.  We never believed we could have done so well....!   There was however have more to come....

It was soon time for the shearling ewes to enter the ring and the same thing happened.. 2nd and 4th again...  We were overjoyed...  A 2nd and 4th in both the classes we had entered - it was just unbelieveable.  After only 3yrs in the 'business', we couldn't have hoped for anything more....

A big thank you must go to to Sid Cook .. our mentor.. who helped us throughout the day, and it has to be said without him we would have never been looking at the success we are today....  Thank You....