[Jacob-list] Jacobs at Fairs

[Thomas Simmons]

Folks - 

I have been on vacation and returned to a flurry of passionate messages on this list abour showing Jacobs.  We have chosen to avoid both the regular "shows" and the 4H route, but we have found other venues that we thought were quite appropriate.

We do not "compete" for several reasons:  we have detected a dominant paradigm among sheep judges that "bigger is better," "muscled is better," and "wool all over" is better (I live in a very heavy dairy area where the Holstein is King.  Jacobs are black and white, so they must be puny holsteins, right? :-)  I have also seen a strong "everything-should-look-exactly-the-same" within a small flock presented for judging.  None of these parameters are appropriate, IMHO, for a rare breed as genetically diverse as the Jacob.

As an aside, I tend to bristle at the list of innoculations required of sheep to be shown.  My sheep are raised rather naturally, and to inject them in a flurry of shots to show them is not worth it to me.  Of course, even at a show, the animals are judges against each other, so even a poor Jacob, in a class with only a few competitors, becomes the "winner," and a representative of the class - and he/she cold be a poor one at that.  I have seen "Jacobs" at fairs that are clearly NOT Jacobs.

Instead, we have chose to show off our sheep at non-competitive exhibitions, such as the New England Heritage Breeds Expo. Here, there is a chance to explain the breed without having to win a meat-sheep contest or follow anyone's "standard" but my own breeding program.  My children have prepared for, accompanied me, and been a part of these types of shows ever since we have had sheep.  They also talk to school groups who visit the farm, and have presented various projects to area home-school cooperatives; being home-schooled, I feel that they probably have more interaction raising their sheep than many of our local (cow-oriented) 4Hers do.

thom
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