Black Sheep, the show

Friday morning was the Shetland sheep show. As expected, Black Sheep's usually-big Shetland classes were HUGE because of the extra attendance generated by the NASSA AGM (the annual general meeting of our breed organization) being held in conjunction with Black Sheep Gathering this year. There was no way to get entire classes (yearling rams, ram lambs, yearling ewes, ewe lambs) in one shot, as each class had two full lines of sheep and handlers in the arena. For instance, this is half the ram lambs entered:I took pictures when I could, then handed off my camera off to Jackie when I was busy in the ring. Thanks, Jackie!(Jackie is one of the blogpals I got to meet - and hug - for the first time at BSG!)

Since I wasn't able to get photos of all the winners, I'm just using photos that show my sheep - plus some special people!

My first class was ram lambs, and since I had two, Garrett helped me out. (Garrett drove all the way from Perham, Minnesota, where we lived for Rick's first job as a veterinarian, for Black Sheep and the AGM.) The judge deemed Blake and Bodhran "too young" (among others) to evaluate for placement. I wonder if the judge thought they were so young their horns just hadn't started growing yet, because he asked me when they were born!
(Second photo taken by Jeannie Wright.)

My other entry was Bronwen in yearling ewes. The judge really liked her structure but not her fleece; still, she was a good girl who made me proud:
Another very special blogpal I got to meet in person for the first time was Kathy. She had a harrowing travel story of her own after driving with her DH and her daughter's in-laws (from New Zealand) all the way from Flagstaff, Arizona. Here she is, on the left, helping Lois show her ewe lambs:Like Lois, Kathy is someone who became a dear friend via internet and phone long before we ever got to meet in person, and the face-to-face friendship meets every anticipation. We got a lot of bear-hugs in, but I could have used even more!

That's the report on the BSG Shetland classes, from . . .