Heckington Show 27th July 2008
Another great show success for the Broadfleet flock..!
The main work for this show started over a week before the show date. This time we were taking seven sheep to Heckington show. Having, 'obtained' a fibre glass bath from a skip our sheep were given an impromtu bath to wash all that 'field' debris from them and then put them inside on some fresh straw to stop them getting too dirty...During the next week the 'real' work began... The trimming...
Carolyn carding one of the Broadfleet ewes. 
Fortunately four of the sheep we were taking had already been to Lincoln show so did not require a great deal of work but three hadn't and that meant at least three hours of trimming and carding for each one. The ones that had been to Lincoln can be done in half the time but still take around an hour to an hour and a half to prepare. The idea of all this trimming and carding is to get the wool 'tight' and to get the sheep looking the right 'shape'. They need to have a flat back and a large square rear and front end. The task of the judge is to see past all this and to try and determine the true shape of the sheep and obviously award the best with first prize...!
Saturday night the trailer and car were prepared ready for the off early Sunday...
Sunday morning came and our sheep were loaded into the trailer and we were off, arriving at the show ground early in order to repair any damage the sheep had done whilst they were in their pens at home.
As the other sheep arrived it was obvious the show was going to be busy and our sheep were going to be, 'up against it'. In the ewe lamb class there were eighteen other entries and in the ram lamb class fifteen with four other Southdown exhibitors. To do well today our sheep would have to be really good..!
Soon everyone was settled in and the judging began at 11am on what was an extremely hot day. First up was our shearling ram. Basically a ram that has been sheared once ie just over a year old. It was the oldest sheep we had taken to a show and a hard class to win. If we did well here it would make our day...
Soon everyone was settled in and the judging began at 11am on what was an extremely hot day. First up was our shearling ram. Basically a ram that has been sheared once ie just over a year old. It was the oldest sheep we had taken to a show and a hard class to win. If we did well here it would make our day...
The judge examined him front and back....
...and we were placed 3rd. It was a very good result. It was a baking hot day and sheep, exhibitors and judge were all suffering with the heat..!
Next up were our two ram lambs....
The judge went through his usual routine of examining each one and then getting them to walk around the ring. He was very thorough with each sheep taking his time before coming to his decision. there were fifteen in this class so it would be extremely difficult to do well here...
When he came to his decision the lamb Carolyn was holding came first..! We were overjoyed it really was a fantastic achievement but there were still four sheep to go....
Next were the shearling ewes. Again a very strong class with our two ewes finishing 3rd and 8th.
Then came the ewe lamb class with eighteen other sheep in it..! We managed to finish 5th with one but first with the other. This meant we now had two sheep going into the championship classes. Our ram lamb and our ewe lamb. The very first time that this has ever happened to us...!
They were in the Shortwool championship class against Sophie and Dhillons very good shearling Southdown ewe. We entered the ring and again the judging began...
It became apparent that it was between our ewe lamb and Dhillon and Sophies shearling ewe as Carolyn had been seperated from us! The judge was thinking long and hard...
Next up were our two ram lambs....
The judge went through his usual routine of examining each one and then getting them to walk around the ring. He was very thorough with each sheep taking his time before coming to his decision. there were fifteen in this class so it would be extremely difficult to do well here...
When he came to his decision the lamb Carolyn was holding came first..! We were overjoyed it really was a fantastic achievement but there were still four sheep to go....
Next were the shearling ewes. Again a very strong class with our two ewes finishing 3rd and 8th.
Then came the ewe lamb class with eighteen other sheep in it..! We managed to finish 5th with one but first with the other. This meant we now had two sheep going into the championship classes. Our ram lamb and our ewe lamb. The very first time that this has ever happened to us...!
They were in the Shortwool championship class against Sophie and Dhillons very good shearling Southdown ewe. We entered the ring and again the judging began...
It became apparent that it was between our ewe lamb and Dhillon and Sophies shearling ewe as Carolyn had been seperated from us! The judge was thinking long and hard...
But in the end it was Dhillon and Sophies shearling ewe that won on the day....
They had won the trophy that we had won two years earlier.
We had done really well though and to have two sheep in a championship class against such strong competition was absolutely brilliant.
The show was again, from our point of view a huge success and a big thank you goes to the organisers and all the people at the Heckington show that made it the day that it was. It continues to be a 'big', small village show that has retained it's local links and it's a joy to bring the sheep to the event. A special thank you to the judge that day Mr Phillip Hodges. It was an extremely hot day and at least we had some respite from the heat when we went to get the next batch of sheep. He was extremely thorough with each sheep and it can't be easy judging so many different sheep breeds at one time, so again a big thank you.
A final thank you to Mr & Mrs Stubby for photographing the event for us. Most of the photographs on this page were taken by them and it will help us to remember what a fabulous day we had....
They had won the trophy that we had won two years earlier.
We had done really well though and to have two sheep in a championship class against such strong competition was absolutely brilliant.
The show was again, from our point of view a huge success and a big thank you goes to the organisers and all the people at the Heckington show that made it the day that it was. It continues to be a 'big', small village show that has retained it's local links and it's a joy to bring the sheep to the event. A special thank you to the judge that day Mr Phillip Hodges. It was an extremely hot day and at least we had some respite from the heat when we went to get the next batch of sheep. He was extremely thorough with each sheep and it can't be easy judging so many different sheep breeds at one time, so again a big thank you.
A final thank you to Mr & Mrs Stubby for photographing the event for us. Most of the photographs on this page were taken by them and it will help us to remember what a fabulous day we had....