340 – Young Crofter Ewe lamb; (Ewe lamb cannot be shown previously by another person)
This class is run under the auspices of the Young Crofters Group, and will be stewarded by their representatives. The age limit is 30 and under. The class is being accommodated at each district show for competitors within their area. For Point Show, therefore, this class is restricted to young crofters from a holding within the Stornoway Trust catchment area (Tong to Tolsta, Stornoway & Point). The winner of this class will be eligible to compete in the Championship final; the location and date of which will be confirmed in due course.
- Ewe lamb class is open to ages 30 and under.
– There is no lower age limit, the competition is open for anyone up to 30. Children who are unable to handle the lamb themselves may be accompanied by a parent etc in the ring who can help them with handling the lamb.
- You are only eligible to compete in your local district show.
(districts listed below) - Feedback received about the class being only open locally to each show was over all very positive. Every participant had an equal opportunity to enter and each show had a successful turn out on the day for the class. This meant that the two closed shows were able to host the ewe lamb class and there was a participant for each show put forward for the final.
Districts will be as follows –
Lochs – Grimshader to Airidh a’ Bhruaich, South Lochs & Achmore
Harris – North and South Harris
Uist – North, middle & South Uist (Barra) tbc
Westside – Dalbeg to Ness
Point – Tong to Tolsta, Stornoway & Point
Carloway – Garynahine to Dalmore, Uig & Bernera.
The following criteria points have been removed and are now at the discretion of each judge:
- Ewe lamb must be shown by 1 exhibitor for full show season.
- Ewe lamb must be to breed standard.
- The ewe lamb must come from own croft or family croft.
Secondly, the class instructions have been amended as follows:
Each show’s judge may judge the competition at their own discretion but we do ask that the judges all ask the same 3 questions as before.
THE 3 QUESTIONS TO BE ASKED ARE:
What breed is your lamb?
What age is your lamb?
Why did you pick this?
The questions are encouraging and a bit of fun for the younger participants. They are not set to catch anyone out and are there to encourage and not discourage participants.
This class is judged on the ewe lamb. However, this rule was added in as we felt the judge would benefit from knowing a bit about the lamb. The 3 questions are easily answered by all competitors.
Question 1: What breed is the lamb – This was a simple question added in with the view of younger competitors gaining confidence and experience.
Question 2: How old is your lamb – This question was added in as it gives the judge a better idea on the lambs he/she is judging. For example, there may be two equally great lambs which the judge is struggling to pick from. One is March born and one is May born, that small piece of information would potentially help a judge make their decision as the March born lamb might be great but the May born lamb which is an equally great lamb, is two months younger. This question is also easily answered by all competitors.
Question 3: Why did you pick this lamb – This question was added in as it gives younger competitors confidence and experience in positive reflection on not only their choice but the lamb they are showing. The question is easily answered by all competitors
We have removed all other instructions.
Finally, we hope that Carloway show being the last show on the circuit will host our final. Unfortunately, last year’s plan of the final being held at a later date never materialised due to many factors but the main being that location and time did not merge to allow the final to take place as with the first sale of the year being at the end of August, there was very tight margins. We do hope to look into this in the future and hopefully we will be able to arrange a final but for now we feel it would be better at the last show of the year.