[Jacob-list] Jacobs at Fairs

[Dr. David R. Lincicome]

1225 hrs/Monday 27 August 2001

You are so right.  In comparative judging just because an animal wins a
blue ribbon or a championship does not automatically make that animal
worthy.  It merely means it was considered the best of the group of
animals present for the judging.  Not many appreciate this fact.

There are many other ways to promote and educate the public other than
in the comparative show ring.  I have touched upon this in talks and on
paper frequently but seldom do I find serious listeners or readers.

One of those ways concerns the Jacob wool.  There are so many uses for
the various qualities of Jacob wool.  In my own collection I have a
sports jacket I had tailered, several ties, a blanket, a decorative thro
for my Bechstein grand piano, a decorative wall hanging; I also have 3
wool paintings done by an English artist, one large oil painting of a
Jacob ram, and 1 large water color study of an ewe with 2 babies plus
one small oil painting of a Jacob ram.   In addition I have a limited
edition reprint of a painting of a flock of Jacob sheep in England in a
winter scene. All these decorate the walls of my home.

Would like to see a national dialogue on ways and means of promoting
Jacob sheep without showing in the comparative show ring.  Maybe this
will give a boost!

David Richard Lincicome, Ph.D.,PAS, DACAP
A Founder, Past Registrar and Past President, Jacob Sheep Conservancy

Thomas Simmons wrote:

>  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