Sunday, August 7, 2011

Lamb project









This year the lamb crew numbered 11 kids. The project stared with a trip to Kelly Hoffman's farm in Indiana to pick the lambs out in April. The lambs this year were a special bunch as they were very calm and always hungry. By the time of fair we were actually having to put the pen on a little diet to make sure they didn't come in too heavy. The kids worked hard this year in getting their lambs exercise. One of the funny things we did was take the lambs on long walks around the farm. In farm country this wouldn't be a big deal but when you take 10 lambs for a walk along Lake Avenue during rush hour traffic it is something totally different. The kids thought of it as our private weekly parade. I have no idea what the lambs thought of it but I do think they enjoyed getting out and seeing/eating the well maintained lawns around the farm. At the fair their hard work on showmanship paid off. The kids, as a whole, did one of the best jobs of showing lambs that we have ever done. It is tricky to always be in the right place, have your lamb set up and know where in the show ring the judge is. The kids did it flawlessly. In fact, Cassidy won the top showmanship honors for the division. Additionally, Cassidy also won Grand Champion of the fair with her lamb named Jr. Another great outing for the Clovers.