Jacob Journal Spring 2012 Number 74 by Rachel Gibb

Jacob Journal

Lady Aldington 1920 - 2012

Number 74

Spring 2012

Lambs enjoying the sunshine from Nigel and Rachel Gibbâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tweedside Flock

Jacob Sheep Society www.jacobsheepsociety.co.uk

secretary@jacobsheep.org.uk

Patron:

HRH Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy, GCVO Deputy Patron:! !

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Chairman:! Mr G Jones!

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President: Mr S Taylor

Vice Chairman:! Robert Locker!

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Treasurer:! Dr J Strong!

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Field Officer: Mrs J Blacknell

Breed Promotion Chairman: Mrs J East - Tel. 01404 850272 Interim Administrator: Mrs Jean Simmons - Tel. 01785 282818 Camster Fold, Aston, Stafford ST18 9LJ Jacob Journal Editor: Nicola Fletcher - Tel. 07885 757156. E-mail: nicola.f.fletcher@gmail.com 52 Oakfield Road, Selly Park, Birmingham B29 7EQ

Regional Council Members South West! ! !

Mrs Angela Gilbert!! Tel. 01803 872112! Compton Castle, Paignton, Devon, TQ3 1TA

Southern! ! !

Mrs Daphne Rice! ! Tel. 01798 815732 Thistledown Cottage, Harbolets Road, West Chiltington, West Sussex, RH20 2LG

Central! ! !

Mr John Emberton! ! Tel. 01214 722203 27 Odell Place, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B5 7RG

Eastern! ! !

Miss Lisa Adams! ! Tel. 07811 658454 Kilby Grange Farm, Fleckney Road, Kilby, Wigston, Leicestershire, LE18 3TB

Northern! ! !

Mr Gavin Haworth! ! Tel. 01756 799859 24 Upper Union Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 2NN

Scotland! ! !

Mr Gordon Connor!! Tel. 01506 834806 Dun-Mor, Auldhill Road, Bridgend, Linlithgow, West Lothian, EH49 6ND

Wales! !

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Mrs Siwan Harries! ! Tel. 01558 822430 Hope Farm, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, SA19 7UR

Ireland ! ! !

Mr Paul Colhoun! ! Tel. 028 82244945 25 Kingarrow Road, Omagh, Co. Tyrone, BT79 7TX

Editorial The first year of the new team working on the Journal has gone quickly. Lambing is well underway and indeed for some will have finished as I write this at the beginning of March. Throughout the Society, members will be eyeing up their new crop of lambs looking for that elusive special, even though there will be some months of growing on that can bring delight or frustration as the lambs develop. Thoughts will be turning to later in the year when the show season gets underway. You may notice that the list of shows is now on the website. It was felt that this was the best place for the list as there is simply not enough room for the other articles and information in the Journal. Also you can link directly with the show website and obtain all the information, forms and details that you need very easily. At this time of the year asI look at my flock, particularly the lambs, I have a very real sense of the cycle of the year, and of the way decisions made last summer have now born fruit. In this edition of the Journal there are four obituaries of people who have made a great difference to Jacob Sheep. Their work in creating the Society and nurturing it through its gestation has given us what we have today, a vibrant and thriving Society and they are rightly honoured and remembered for what they have achieved. And yet the cycle moves on. It is for the current members of the Society to carry the torch forward, building on what now exists. Reading in the Journal about the members of the Society and their great dedication, support and enthusiasm, gives me great hope for the future and I am sure it will for you as well.

LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN Gareth Jones The passing of Lady Aldington marks a significant milestone in the history of the Jacob Sheep Society of which Lady A, was of course, the founder and its Deputy Patron. This vibrant and unique Society is itself, a fitting tribute to Lady Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard work and guidance over the years. We will all miss her wise words and encouragement and it is down to us all to ensure the Society continues to flourish. What better tribute could there be to the founder of this Society. A full obituary appears later in this Journal together with those of other members who have died recently namely, Bob Brewis and Julius Von Heimendahl and Annabel Briggs (member and past JSS Secretary). At the time of writing I have also just been told of the death of long standing member Alice Edwards. Our condolences go to all the families. The Society continues to progress on a number of fronts and following the AGM in April it will be down to Robert and our new Council to take all the initiatives forward. Back in January we agreed a settlement with our previous secretary. That aspect having been finalised we can now look to the office arrangements going forward which Robert and a number of others are now progressing. It has been a great honour chairing the Society and I want to thank all those members who have done so much in the last three years to ensure we continue to flourish. The names are too many to mention here but you know who you are and on behalf of the Society and from me personally, I offer you my sincere thanks. I have asked Robert to compile a Chairman Elect report which he has done and which you can read in this Journal. It only remains for me to wish Robert and all members of Council the very best of luck for the next three years. Best Wishes Gareth

LETTER FROM THE VICE PRESIDENT Robert Locker I’m trying to write these few words in between bobbing out to the lambing shed in the wee small hours. You know how it is when you’re sure there is one about to start. They go through all the normal motions of getting up and down and pawing the ground and calling for any lamb which may be hovering near. And this goes on for what seems like days then the minute you turn your back, out pops twins with no messing. In case we’ve not yet met, I thought I’d use these few words to introduce myself. I have the pleasure of taking over from Gareth as Chairman at this year’s AGM in the Southern Region after a few years as Vice Chairman and previously as the Regional Representative for Scotland. It is a great honour to take up this position and I do hope I can do it justice. Having worked very closely with the Council recently as we waded through a sticky patch in the Society’s history, it is great to have been part of a team of volunteers with a wealth of experience of life, sheep and business. When tensions have arisen and decisions taken were not always your first choice, it’s worth remembering that we operate with time gifted by volunteers and decisions taken using a democratic system. I would ask you to make your views known to your Regional Council Member and they will take your views forward on your behalf or please contact me on 07765896665 or robertlocker@hotmail.com . I will try my best to fit in this new role around the farm, the job and life and without sounding too like the Queen, I look forward to meeting you out and about at the various shows and regional events in the coming year. Now better go as I’m sure there’s a gimmer who will lamb any minute now! Best wishes, Robert.

Field Officer’s Report Jean Blacknell

Shows and Sales 2012 Following discussion by Council at the meeting on November 6th 2011 I would like to clarify a few things that relate to all our regional shows and sales. 2011 was a pilot year for some changes in the way our sales are conducted – it was agreed that these had proved mainly to be successful and that the sales in 2012 should remain largely

unaltered before a final recommendation was made to Council in November 2012. For this second pilot year all the existing regional sales will be referred to as “Official Sales” and will be subject to the present regulations set out by the Society. All sheep forward for sale will be subjected to an inspection and will be ‘rejected’ for the following faults: . incorrect mouths or weak pasterns . any tendency to forward growing horns or insufficient space between side horns and face . the eyes on four-horned sheep should show no signs of weakness on the top eyelid . lumpy udders or poorly developed testicles . attention should be paid to breed standards and all sheep without a white blaze on the face or black leg markings that extend below the knee or the hock will be rejected REJECTED SHEEP will be labelled as such by the Inspectors and must be removed to the allocated ‘rejection pens’ by the vendors. These sheep may be offered for sale after all other entries providing they are announced as rejected by the auctioneer and are carrying the labels indicating their rejection. The Inspectors will be asked to use their discretion regarding the mouths of older sheep that they wish to pass, the vendor will be informed and the Auctioneer will announce the fault before the sheep is sold. Judges Panel 2012 Following a decision made by Council at their meeting in November a number of names have been deleted from the 2012 Judges Panel. A requirement of our judges is that they attend judges’ forums and/or other regional events to update their knowledge of the breed. Unfortunately some have failed to meet this requirement despite numerous reminders and therefore their names no longer appear on the official list. Appendix Register For those of you who may have unregistered sheep and wish to upgrade them I would like to offer a few guidelines. The procedure is fully detailed on the Society website under the heading ‘Technical Information’ and the relevant application forms are available from ‘Downloadable forms’. However I would like to remind members that the progeny of ewes that pass inspection will take three generations before they will be registered as ‘pedigree’ and that you may not register any ram lambs born to these ewes. I would suggest that Appendix inspections may not always be a satisfactory alternative to buying registered sheep and would advise new members to seek guidance on the quality of their sheep perhaps from the breeder who sold them and may have thought of them as purely commercial breeding ewes. If you need any further advice please do telephone me on 01785 284229 and we can discuss any problems.

TREASURER’S REPORT The Report of Financial Accounts for the year ended 30 September 2011 has been prepared and is waiting approval by our Reporting Accountants, Douglas Home & Co. Hopefully, by the time you read this, the Accounts will have been finalised and signed off by Council, and they will be waiting approval by the membership at the AGM. Before we review the details of these Accounts, I would like to sincerely thank my wife, Lorna, for her significant and expert help in the preparation of these Accounts and for her patience and understanding in helping me in this job. Because of the considerable length of the Report of Accounts (14 pages), it will not be possible to reproduce them here. However, if any member not attending the AGM would like a copy, they may receive one by contacting me. I am pleased to report that the Society’s finances are in a sound position. With regard to our income, as shown above in the pie chart, 80% came from Subscriptions and Registrations proving again that our income is highly dependent on our membership. Income in 2011 was slightly higher than in 2010, and in some segments it was significantly higher, for example, Registrations. In the chart below the percent of income from each segment/source is shown along with that for 2010 for comparison.

80% of Our Income comes from Subscriptions and Registrations INCOME for 2011 Subs -

Investments Gift Aid Subs

43%

(45%)

Registrations 37%

(28%)

Gift Aid -

(6%)

Investments 11%

(9%)

All Other -

(12%)

Registrations

Total Income £40,532 (£40,183 in

2010)

The next chart shows our expenditure which was considerably greater than in 2010 mainly due to events surrounding the departure of the Secretary. There were some legal costs which as you can see were partially off-set by not having to pay a Secretary fee during the final 2 months, plus there were efficiencies gained in the Secretary office. For these savings we have to sincerely thank Jean Simmons for temporarily taking on the Secretary role as a volunteer. The other types of expenses were about the same level as last year. Finally, I am not showing a chart of our assets this year, but I can report they are at a comfortable level (ÂŁ150,931) despite the slight overspend described above plus a modest decline in the equity portion of our reserve due to the decline in the stock market. It is reassuring to know the income from our investments increased this year due to the changes we made. It also is reassuring to recognise that our reserve is down only to the 2009 level. This report is intended to be a simple overview of our financial situation. Much more detail and analysis is available in the full set of Accounts and I urge you to attend the AGM and/or request a copy for your own examination. Jerry G Strong Treasurer, Jacob Sheep Society

22 February 2012

Breed Promotion Janet East It is nearly 3 years since I took on the mantle of Breed Promotion Chairman and therefore time for me to step down. We are currently looking for a replacement which will be ratified at the AGM in April. It has been a really enjoyable 3 years and I believe we have made real progress in terms of promoting the Jacob both internally to our membership and externally to the public at large via Shows and sales and other Regional based activities. Progress is really buoyant at the moment with increased activity on the Breed Promotion section of the website. At the present time we have concentrated on developing a wool information section which has been well received. We are also having a greater presence at wool events and this year Dianne Hall and a small team of helpers, complete with sheep will be attending Woolfest in Cumbria in June. The history behind this festival is interesting as it was set up by a team of ladies to help support their families following the outbreak of Foot and Mouth – it is now a very successful festival attended by some 5,000 visitors. We will also be attending the major NSA events, Sheep 2012 at the 3 Counties Showground, Malvern on July 4th and NSA South Sheep on June 13th 2012. Our next project is to focus on the wonderful attributes of Jacob meat and very soon there will be a comprehensive section on the “Meat Trail” from start to finish. In particular we will be giving advice from the real beginning when you decide to take your lambs to the abattoir – all those unanswered questions…….. where, when, paperwork, ear tagging and how to overcome the fear of the abattoir process and the people who work there. My local abattoir is run by a giant – honest – but now I know him he is a real gentle giant. The worst fear of all of course is reversing your trailer in front of old experienced farmers and even worse, young bucks who reverse at a hundred mile an hour within an inch of where the trailer needs to be. All will be answered. This will be followed by advice on cuts of meat, cooking processes and of course a few proven recipes Edward is on the case already. The trouble is with these professional chefs, they cook adding a “little bit of this and a spoonful of that” ……….well how much is a little bit and what size spoon? The artists in our Group are blossoming and we will be adding to our range of merchandise with just a couple of items – a sustainable bag and hopefully a delightful tea towel (always a favourite so I am told). The aim will be to have the

items available at the AGM and then available both within the Regions and on the website. An article for the Smallholder has been produced and also one for the Devon Life magazine. This will be excellent publicity for our Breed if they get published. We will let you know via the website if successful. We are still collecting and collating information on the cross breeding programme but still need more information to make our results statistically valid. Please do take the time if you can now that you are lambing. The form is still available on the website. The Jacob is an excellent breed for crossing and this is an important message we need to get across to the commercial lamb producers. Finally before leaving you with yet another of the frequent dramas at Yellingham farm, I must thank all of the Breed Promotion Team for their support and real dedication to the aims and objectives we set ourselves 3 years ago. You have all been stars. A month or so before lambing I always nip up to our neighbouring dairy farm to collect a couple litres of cow’s colostrum in case of an emergency. I went last week and took a couple of plastic bottles, but as always was in a rush and just plonked them in the fridge with the intention of freezing it in small bags later. Chef Patron Edward, always keen to deliver a breakfast fit for a King, duly prepared the jugs of fresh juices for the table but was surprised to see that I had purchased some “pineapple smoothie” – different he thought, having not seen it on the Supermarket shelves before. Ye p … … … … … … . y o u ’ v e g u e s s e d , colostrum in pineapple squash bottles. Our advert says “award winning breakfast” but I’m not sure that includes our guests getting a kick start with colostrum at breakfast. Checked Trip Advisor, no adverse comments yet. P.S. The story of Nell continues…she’s an absolute dream but her agility still remains a problem for me but not for her !

LADY ALDINGTON’S CHRISTMAS QUIZ RESULTS

It is very sad to realise that the 2011 edition of Lady Aldington’s Christmas quiz will be the last one. She was always so enthusiastic about setting the questions and determined to find some questions that could not be looked up straightaway on the internet! This year she was really excited when she heard that we had lots of entries and that the donations for the Society were rolling in. As it happened this year’s quiz was one of her absolute best so it was especially good that so many people entered it and that the donations received amounted to a splendid sum of around £100. The outright winner was Mrs M F Jones of the Twygwyn Flock from Cwmbran, Gwent and she only just pipped everyone to the post by being a mere one point ahead of a large percentage of the other entrants who all scored exactly the same marks! Thank you so much to everyone who has entered over the years and I know that the quiz has given so much pleasure to so many people.

Obituaries The Passing of our Deputy Patron Araminta Lady Aldington By John Thorley, OBE Being asked to write a few words about our late Deputy Patron Araminta Lady Aldington is an honour just as it has been a huge privilege to have known her for the whole of the time she was involved with The Jacob Sheep Society. We first had contact in 1969 when I was a few months into being the new boy at The National Sheep Breeders Association (later NSA). Lady Aldington had written to ask if the National body would have any objection to her and a few friends setting up a breed society for the promotion and development of the Jacob Sheep. We had no objection and with a background in pedigree breeding and breed society work I became secretary of the small group which was to become the first committee of The Jacob Sheep Society. Lady Aldington, or Aunty as she became affectionately known to so many of us was the epitome of an indefatigable force, deeply knowledgeable about breeding in a variety of fields, including horses, dogs, guinea pigs and poultry. She was

determined to ensure that no opportunity would be missed to get the Society up and running, to encourage as many as possible who had Jacobs to participate in its development and to engage with any other organisation which she felt would see the positive opportunity for this ancient breed but new Society to thrive. It would be easy to quote a huge number of facts but I’m not sure that would in any sense provide an insight into the inspiring character of this very special person. Her contacts were second to none and they were usually only too happy to help her. I remember when Edward Heath was the Prime Minister and having told Aunty that the Civil Servants were not allowing the Minister of Agriculture access to my fledgling NSA being told to get a letter to her as quickly as possible and she would get it to the Prime Minister in his egg box! He would then see that it would get to the Minister for Agriculture. It was an important moment for the sheep industry and the first of many contacts using the “egg box” postal system! But I digress, she naturally became the first Chairman of The Jacob Sheep Society and in due course President and then Deputy Patron. In the meantime though she persuaded Her Grace The Duchess of Devonshire to be our very first President and the “show” was very much on the road. Later on she persuaded Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra to be our Patron. In ten years from that standing start there were over 600 registered flocks. The energy and organisational skills she brought to the Society were unparalleled and she had an unyielding positiveness about what was important with an absolute abhorrence of matters which were in any way false or artificial.

Lady Aldington with some of her sheep

I remember being impressed by the fact that her idea of a holiday in those early days was to have a week at the Royal Show with the breeders and stockmen. She would attend the Show in her

recycled but beautifully converted former Municipal Dustcart wagon named Matilda! It had a very impressive double cab, a luxury in those days and the back had been removed to be replaced by a specially built stockbox, apparently a birthday present from her husband. She then brought to the show her sit up and beg bicycle which she used to go around, more often than not with a straw hat especially at the summery shows. She took every opportunity to promote the breed, talked about the small joints of meat for small families, its unequalled quality; the natural colouring of the wool and its texture long before such matters took on a life of their own. Very elegant Jacob wool clothing was worn to all sorts of prestigious events and, if asked, she would always be more than happy to discuss the natural comfort, environmental benefit and sheer beauty of the type of cloth into which her Jacob wool had been made. It really would be very easy to go on at great length about what a unique person she was; I think though that those of us who were lucky enough to have known her will all have our own special memories which we will cherish for eternity. She was that rare mix who could always be counted on for a candid opinion. An amazingly shrewd judge of character she was a true friend in every sense of the words with a quiet humour and wit. Above all she was a thorough Lady who will be deeply missed but whose memory will be a source of inspiration for all who knew her as well as those who come after us. The Jacob Sheep Society of today is a true testament to her ability to get people from all walks of life to work together; to her strength of purpose and to her dedication and tenacity. She was justifiably proud of the Society and we as a Society celebrate the passing of a friend whose leadership and vision has been instrumental in raising our sights well above the horizons thought possible when the journey began.

There will be a memorial book at the AGM hotel where members will be able to write about their memories of Lady A. It is intended that the book will be given to the family and hopefully, a copy retained for the JSS archive. If you are not attending the AGM, but would like to include something, please send it to me, Daphne Rice, by post or e-mail at least one week before the AGM i.e. by April 21st. Please include photos if you have any. My e-mail address is drice26561@aol.com Tel No 01798 815732 and my address is in the yearbook.

Bob Brewis 1920 – 2011

Bob, who died in November aged 91, was one of the founder members of the Society and had kept Jacobs for over 40 years. Bob joined up in 1939 and served throughout the war. Some of his war exploits were recounted in the autumn 2010 edition of this journal. Although he was a gardener by profession, his real love was sheep, and what he didn’t know about them wasn’t worth knowing. Bob’s association with the Jacob Sheep Society goes back to it’s beginnings and it is Bob whom Lady Aldington credits with getting the Jacob Sheep on the judging map. In those days the Jacob was a bit of a novelty with the commercial sheep farmer, but Bob was a respected sheep man and his willingness to be associated with the Jacob put the breed fairly and squarely into the respectable category Bob worked for Mrs Ruck Keene at Troy House in Oxfordshire Bob advised her to: “get rid of the cows in the fields near the garden and get some nice sheep”. She duly obliged and so the Troy Flock (number 127) was started. Bob looked after the flock and became a judge for the Jacob Sheep Society. In time Mrs Ruck Keene split her flock in two and gave Bob his own Flock which he named “The New Troy Flock” (and which is number 817 in the Society’s Flock Book). A few years ago the New Troy Flock was transferred to Bob’s son, Alistair, and so one of the early flocks of the JSS continues to this day.

Bob was a judge for more than 30 years, judging not only Jacobs but almost every other breed, particularly the rare breeds. He was particularly associated with the Rare Breeds Show at Singleton in West Sussex, which he helped to set up in 1985. He was there this year as ever, standing round in the pouring rain, his eyes twinkling, enjoying meeting old friends and talking sheep! He will be greatly missed.

Annabel Briggs, Member No. 4238 By John Emberton It was with great sadness that we learned of the death, at the age of 49, of Annabel Briggs. Annabelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health had not been good for a while and she passed away on 4th February following a short spell in hospital. Following an early career in the racing industry Annabel was Secretary of the Leicestershire County Show for six years before becoming Secretary of the Jacob Sheep Society in 2002. Around that time Annabel had taken the tenancy of Foxholes Farm near Burton on Trent which enabled her to continue to breed thoroughbreds and where she built up a pedigree herd of Dexter cattle and her flock of Jacob sheep. Annabel was entirely committed to her stock and to her dogs and it was the increasing workload involved in running the farm which led to her resigning as our secretary in 2004. A great many members will have fond memories of her time as our secretary and will be greatly saddened to hear of her untimely passing.

Julius von Heimendahl

Julius von Heimendahl died on 29th November aged 77. His Jacob flock (781) was the first Jacob flock in Germany, although he also kept many other breeds of sheep. He was the head of the house of Bockdorf and managed the family estate at Kempen not far from Dusseldorf which he inherited in 1959 at the age of 25. He turned the estate into a very successful agricultural business. He was interested in poultry and was also a beekeeper, but his great interest was sheep and their breeding and his sheep were much sought after in the area. He started one of the first rare breed farms on his estate and also had a farm shop where he marketed his produce. The estate is now run by his son, Hannes He had relatives in England, where he lived for some years, and always maintained his ties with this country , and particularly with Cambridge. Our condolences go to his family.

Wool Culture Forum November 4th 2011 on Dartmoor The Wool Culture Forum was organised on Dartmoor by the CCANW (Centre for Contemporary Art & the Natural World) and over 35 attended. The CCANW have set up a recent initiative to connect SW wool producers to wool users via a free online database.... “The Wool Directory”. Claire Crompton, a knitwear designer advised that currently this included 29 Producers of Wool listed from 19 Breeds of sheep, plus Alpacas, and 27 users of fleece. The area covered includes Devon, Somerset, Cornwall, Dorset and part of Gloucestershire. The Wool Directory has advertised at Devon County Show, The NSA Sheep SW, Dartmoor Fair, and Prince’s Countryside Trust. Isabella Whitworth, who was a dyer, using natural materials told everyone about the current Devon Guild of Craftsmen exhibition which had some innovative ideas using felt, including a use for chair covers. Nick Morley of Oakdene Hollins Consultancy then spoke mainly about the use of low grade fibre, recycled textiles and sustainable products. Re-cycled Short fibre including wool can be used for mattresses and flocking, horticultural matting,

underlay and building insulation. Low grade new fibre can be made into needlepunch felt, emergency blankets and could be mixed with plastic to make trunking for computers and also used for sound insulation for cars. The EU Ecolabel included sustainable wool used for clothing and furnishing fabrics, floor covering (carpets) and wooden furniture (filling and covering). Lise Hauge, a felt maker for seven years, spoke about her business â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wooltecâ&#x20AC;?. She is an inspirational Norwegian who set up her business in Norway using low value wool fleece that farmers there would normally throw away. She took a year to design a large felting machine 2 metres by 2.5 metres with an engineer and set up a wool collecting centre, collecting a ton of fleece in each of 3 years. She employed two people to classify the wool into six categories and found that her felt designs would sell to easily cover her costs. The first category of fleece was made into felt for blankets and apparel, the second was for outdoor felt mats. The third was used in the cleansing industries, while the fourth was used for knitting yarn. The fifth category was used for insulation of timber cottages and the sixth was used for oil sorbents. She said she now used and trained unemployed people in her business which had proved a big success. After a talk by Brian Dallyn of the British Wool Marketing board everyone moved to a farm for lunch. Various fleeces were laid out for discussion, and wool Lisa Hauge with Judy Bell, South West member discussing a Jacob fleece producers had a chance to network and talk to the speakers and also to wool users. One wool user only wanted confirmed source scoured fleece, which was proving difficult to obtain. Tom Podkolinski of Finisterre talked of his eventual successful quest to get an extremely fine non scratchy fleece wool for sports under garments. An interesting day which advertised Jacob fleece to some new potential producers and resulted in one new producer saying she wanted my Jacob fleece wool next year. Angela Gilbert

The Judge's View Introduction by Clive Richardson Following on from the article in the last Journal when a number of experienced and well-respected judges explained what they look for in the show ring when they judge Jacob sheep, feedback from members was that they found the article interesting and informative. As a consequence, several more judges have been asked to put pen to paper to give their views about judging the breed. Trish Baker, Suffolk: Talk to any Jacob judge and you will hear words such as “the sheep that jumps out and hits you in the eye” (not literally, of course!). It’s hard to define the ‘presence’ that makes a winning show sheep but, for beginners, it is important to try and explain. A cracking show sheep will walk into the ring with its head held high, lightly walking up on its toes and looking alert and interested in everything around it. That’s what first ‘hits’ the judge, and that’s why it is imperative to work with and train your sheep BEFORE coming to the show. Sometimes, too, we see poor creatures that have been stuffed with food for months and are much too fat, or have been to too many shows in that season. They can plod in as though they are really fed up with showing – they can lose their ‘spark’ and look tired. That might explain what Anna Milner said in her wise paragraph in the last Journal. Sheep can have good days and bad days, but it shouldn’t detract from what is, basically, a quality sheep. I say, don’t be downhearted if your sheep doesn’t do as well as you hoped every time. There is always another day and another judge. What I love to see in a Jacob in the show ring, or in the field, is a strongly built animal, well fleshed, with plenty of length; not too narrow but nice and square – leg on each corner as they say; head high and proud with bright eyes and alert look. There’s no doubt that good markings catch the eye. A clean badger face and big dark spots look better than little speckly ones. When such a sheep comes into the ring, I am dying to get my hands on it. Though it looks great, and has that ‘presence’, it could be hiding a multitude of faults that trimming disguises. Beautiful trimming can disguise a black skin, a weak back, narrow shoulders or kempy wool so I try to look out for that. People watching, around the ring, are often puzzled as to why a good looking sheep goes down the line, but you can be sure that the judge will have found some hidden fault deep in that lovely wool. What a joy it is to handle an animal that is truly good in the mouth, body and feet. I prefer a sheep with a flat back and strong, straight boned legs – not spindly little ones that bend at the knee or hock and I definitely prefer short, upright pasterns. Sadly, some exhibitors leave toes much too long and untrimmed which makes the pasterns look worse.

In the rams, I am very wary of horns that might grow too close to the face – after suffering that problem in some of my own rams – but neither do I like the really wide ‘girly’ horns that seem to go with a feminine face. A ram's face and body should look pretty butch. After finding GOOD SHEEP first that meet the Breed Standard for horns, mouth, teeth etc. then I start comparing the cosmetic bits. As judges, the advice we are given these days is much broader and more helpful than when I first started showing. In those dim and distant days, if a fantastic sheep was found to have just one or two black spots under the white wool, it would be shunted straight down to the bottom of the line…similarly a little black on the leg or white on the ear. Now we are more relaxed and correct sheep, with a little white on the ear or dot of black on the foot, if all else is terrific, have gone on to be show champions! No sheep is perfect and the hardest part of judging is when you have equal sheep in front of you – both of which could be winners – then you have to start picking on the minor points of the Breed Standard to try to choose between them, e.g. I would choose a pink nose over a very narrow blaze. This is when a judge’s own preference may make an exhibitor confused and that is why it’s important for the judge to visit the lines, after the show, to try and explain. BUT do please be kind to the Judge - and remember that a relaxed sheep, chewing cud back in its pen, may look nothing like the one she put down the line and, when the sheep are not standing side by side, it’s hard to remember why you made some of your decisions. Scott Dalrymple, West Lothian I've been involved in a few different breeds of sheep including Texels and Beltex although now mostly Cheviots and Jacobs and I enjoy showing at local and national shows and I especially love getting sheep ready for the show ring. When I judge shows I like to see sheep well brought out, clean and well handled. I like sheep with tight skins as I call it, a good alert head with the ears up, good pasterns, good on their legs and with good bodies. I like the sheep running loose so I can see them walking right then take it from there, checking mouths, teeth and eyes, but for me a right show sheep must have a good head. An old Texel breeder once told me a good show sheep running round the ring "talking with its ears" will find the judge and its a true saying. I don't mind if a sheep has two or four horns provided it is correct. Going round shows you always learn by watching other peoples' little tricks if you can spot them. Jackie Lewis, Shropshire From the moment a sheep is paraded in the show ring I am keen to spot its level

of alertness and its character, also how well it has been presented. From my experiences as an exhibitor some individual sheep are natural posers but others can be a lot harder work. A keen exhibitor will have their eyes on their sheep and the judge at all times!.As with the judging of any breed the correctness of the basic sheep points are of utmost importance. Freedom of movement or good mobility is only brought about by the correct shape of the legs (rear legs not too sickled, not too straight) which can also affect the posture. Lameness can be caused by poorly maintained feet, it is always good to see neat well trimmed feet. Level of condition can also affect mobility. It is always good to see sheep in show condition but overconditioning can spoil an individual as they tend to 'roll' as they walk. As soon as I have seen each sheep walk individually towards and away from me I like to think I can start building a score card up in my mind. Before asking the exhibitors to form an organised line up I usually take a look at the class as a group to see if any particular sheep catch my eye. In the line I try to take a very methodical approach to inspecting each sheep. I start at the head and work back, mouth first - checking the setting of the teeth on the pad (not overshot or undershot), eyes - I like to see a complete well rounded top eyelid with no weakness. Horns -black preferably, good spacing if four horned and the right shape and setting on the head. In the case of a ram I like to see a good masculine broad head and a finer feminine head on a ewe. Markings on the head should be clear and even with a white blaze. I also like to see a good black nose. I am able to assess the true shape and size of the body by firmly handling the shoulder (their width and strength), the back (length and strength over the loin area) checking for weaknesses behind the shoulders and also handling the dock on the tail for body condition. Handling the gigots on the rear legs to establish level of muscling. Pushing down gently on the back to assess pastern strength in rear feet. I spread the wool on the shoulders to gauge staple length and quality and repeat this process several places on the back and sides to also check for the level of black pigment on the skin under white wool. By checking the wool on the hind legs I can see if there is excessive amounts of kemp (coarse hair) present. I like to see a good fine tight fleece well presented. By this stage I am hopefully building up a fair appraisal for each sheep as I work down the line. Body markings, although it is always good to see sheep with balanced black\white markings I do not heavily mark down a sheep for being too dark or too few markings, but I do like to see white legs. I am sure that most judges would agree correct basic sheep points are essential, but each judge may have slightly different views on how they would prioritise breed points within the Jacob breed. By hopefully completing a score card (in my mind) for each sheep I can then start to arrange the sheep in the winning line up. It is always good to have a worthy winner and one that can represent its class well in the championship and

furthermore a breed champion that will be a good representative for our breed in an interbreed championship. At the end of my judging I like to think I have awarded fairly and can justify my decisions, hopefully giving new and young members as much encouragement and advice as I can by being approachable after judging to answer questions. Barbara Webster, Fife In judging sheep I always feel the first impression is usually the most convincing – watch the animals as they enter the ring. My preference is to let the sheep run loose off the halter so they can really “show” themselves and take your eye. I know this is not always possible especially for the ram classes or in some cases there is no show ring!! but I feel it is the best way to spot style, presence, breed character and also a chance to check legs and pasterns as they move freely. I like the males to be masculine with size, scale, bone and well fleshed but not over fat in condition (they are supposed to be working rams) good legs, long body with good shoulders, wide chest and full heart girth, a broad stylish head with black well set horns, even clean blaze and black nose and of course a good pair of testicles!! The females should be really bright, alert and feminine with great style and although I like to have the sheep well grown I’m not a great fan of big “butch” gimmers. Due to the amount of wool on some sheep it is necessary to really feel through the wool and handle the sheep to assess the conformation of the animal, expert dressing can disguise a multitude of sins! The finer points of a Jacob are important and each judge will have their own personal preference as to which they place before the other, for me wool quality has always been one of the most important points and I prefer a slightly darker coloured sheep to a very white one. Only when I find two sheep so close to each other in the line up and can’t decide which to place before the other do I consider the some of the smaller show points - does it have a tiny black spot on its foot, or a white bit on its ear or a couple of black spots in the white wool, etc. Most of the shows now have good quality, well presented sheep but at some of the smaller shows getting Jacob classes started up, the good sheep are perhaps just not there. It is relatively easy to judge good sheep, but not so easy to judge those animals with various faults and having to decide which fault is worse than the other. However I am always mindful that they are someone’s pride and joy and they have taken the effort to get their sheep to the show so always try to give constructive advice and find something positive about their animal – we all learned a lot by taking our sheep to shows. Like all judges I am looking for the perfect Jacob – does it exist? Perhaps not, but some sheep in recent years have come very close. The breed has come a long way in the last 40 years (I remember the sheep from those early years very well!) and I hope it continues to be as popular and successful in the future.

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PROFILE OF LINDA MCKENDRICK Flock 4508 (Arnydie) I wasn’t born into a sheep loving family – Dad loved black and whites, but they were Friesian milking cows! The hankering after sheep must have been there though, rising slowly to the surface. While doing a BSc (Agric) at Edinburgh University, the final year thesis I chose was “Hypothermia in Blackface sheep in the Pentland Hills.” One look at my keen, rounded face (and figure!) and they said “no chance”. Sulking ensued, followed by a lambing at John O’ Groats and I was hooked. Far better than the Postman, Ice Cream van driver and potato inspector jobs I previously tackled! Well, what was I to do with this degree? Nor many farm jobs around for females, but hang on – someone wants an assistant farm manager at Bluff Cove in the Falkland Islands. As the only applicant, I got the job and there were lots of sheep! (and only 1600 people). At first I thought it was near the Faroe Isles, but hey ho even better for the adventure in my soul! Flew down high tech via Argentina, but once landed reality hit, as it was Shank’s pony for the seven mile walk to Bluff Cove. Wondered what had hit me, but to help anaesthetise the shock the farmers went out to the “carcase gallows” and pulled out a whole beef fillet from a native steer and I was in culinary Nirvana! That didn’t last with various farm problems, so I took a Land Girl job at Port Howard on the West Island, a bit of niggling and the “Scottish Lassie” was allowed to have a go at shepherding . An old hand helped me get a dog (of sorts!), horse gear (hand-made gauchostyle!) and I headed out on horseback with the rest of the gang to round up some

Linda McKendrick at the 2010 Royal Highland Show

of the 30,000 Corriedales, a type of Merino. The Falkland wool is some of the best in the world, its clean, pure white, fine and available in large quantities. The constant harsh feeding regime ensures a high micron luxury product much in demand. Once we got a good few thousand home , all hands were on deck. Girls were roustabouts – picking up and rolling the wool, most of the guys could shear and they manned the 14- stand shearing shed. The station had its own wool grader, who separated the fleeces into bins after judging the quality. Never happy I wanted a go at the shearing! No time wasting allowed, but “Gander” would let me use his hand piece when they all went off for breakfast at 9.30am, and by 10.00am he finished what I hadn’t managed! All this did was fuel the fire of desire to clip sheep, but I didn’t get going seriously for a few years. Port Howard was a great place, very sociable with great weather, when not being blasted by the wind. It was the same distance from the equator as London and I can’t remember many days unfit for wildlife admiration. There were 30 mile long colonies of penguins (Jackass, Macaroni, Rock hopper, and Gentoo) co-habiting with shags. Albatross had their own spots and the seas held many seals (Leopard, Sea lion end Elephant) Commerson’s dolphins and whales. Local lads used to play “dare you” at standing on the Elephant seals’ backs - the only ones slow enough to chance this with. The Upland geese were also very tasty, and all these made a nice change from the 365 day mutton diet! We had to kill and butcher our own “tucker” and the old ewes went to feed the dogs and hens! It wasn’t all primitive – we got a few hours electric a day! The farm had a room- sized diesel generator, and most week-ends the manager was asked for a few extra hours to party in the farm hall , and records from Britain produced a passable disco. Nearly two years were spent in the Falklands, the war arriving in my first winter there. Most of the American teachers had gone home, so I did a stint primary teaching. Teachers go to the pupils there – courtesy of British Army helicopters. My biggest class was eight, and mostly the kids just wanted to draw jets and soldiers. The British teaching aids included things like traffic lights (no roads!) trains (no railways!) televisions!? Buses!? – You get the idea – they might as well have had space ships too! But there were some very clever kids who went to College in Argentina, before the war. Also did a spell auxiliary nursing but headed back to sheep. Quite a few of them became victims of the personnel mines, but it was preferable to human casualties. Three times lucky - I was in a mine field on my motorbike twice, and the farm I stayed on was bombed in the bay because it had a reef which looked like a submarine (I thought they were dropping supplies!). When I headed home to see family I was persuaded to stay for a bit and took a temporary job as a boarding school Matron, but not for long as a working collie

appeared on the scene and I headed for the hills of Argyll. Got a bit of shepherding and in between times learned book-keeping at the Loch Fyne Oyster Farm and forestry (brashing, mounding and planting) round Cairndow. Purchased my first Jacob at this time for £14!. Ardkinglas had a 3,000 store lamb sale, and after getting her tupped with a Suffolk producing and rearing twin lambs on the heather hills, they went on to top the sale the following year. What a wee wowmachine!! Hill gathering was definitely not my forte – but my ’physique’ might let me shear! Not much opportunity locally, as a professional gang came in to do our few thousand but between sniggering at my breakfast time efforts, they suggested I take seasonal work in New Zealand –look out Kiwis! The Forestry boss had a shearing contractor cousin in Masterton but being a roustabout didn’t hold enough of a challenge. So I was packed off to a week’s shearing course and stayed for two. Learned properly to start, then got a lucky break due to a shearer shortage that season. Between work I travelled the length and breadth of New Zealand, added more courses and began shearing competitions. The first year I came 25th in the Junior World Golden Shears, came 5th the following year then had a spell in Australia. Went from 200 on Kiwi sheep to 47 Merinos on my first day there! - took a while to reach 160. Oz has more bugs, snakes and creepy-crawlies but has a lot of lovely generous folk who helped out with work and sight-seeing which meant a memorable time there. Then home to contract in Scotland from the East Coast to the Isle of Mull. Lo and behold – Scotland also has its creepy-crawlies; midges, clegs, flying ants and of course ticks! Eventually managed 326 sheared in day here – worth a celebration! Every extra 100 added to a day’s tally involved the imbibing of alcohol – and never fit to shear the same amount the next day. Obtained the training required to be an instructor, and also a shearing judge but still competed. In 1996 I won the Seniors at the Highland Show (experience – not age!!) , giving me a place in the Scottish team in Ireland. But I was getting older and no better, and was settling in Fife doing other contracting work. In 1987 my Dad and I bought a 200 acre grass farm in Fife which was to be predominately sheep, up to 600 Texel crosses but a mix was better and began to rear some cross Simmental cows originating from Dad’s dairy farm. Life was good – contract worked at sheep and tractor driving but .................not good enough!! Needed to get bigger to survive or get smaller and specialise with more contracting, and opted for the latter. I had begun with cast Blackfaces, bred and kept Mules (from the Bluefaced Leicester), bred and kept Texel crosses from these which gave a productive ewe to put to the Suffolk for great fat lamb production. Also had 20 cross cows at this point but downsized, specialised

converting these to pedigree Aberdeen-Angus and the sheep to Charollais. So you are wondering where the Jacobs came in? When my sister Dorothy spent some time with me we got her various poultry, Dexter cows and Jacob Sheep! A few gimmers from Barbara Webster(Carochy Flock), had some added from Helen Baillie and Edie Crowe – and the Arnydie Flock was born (named after the farm’s 18th Century title). Dorothy moved to town and I just had to keep on these unusual characters. Didn’t do much with them (except eat the marvellous meat) until Barbara told me I had to show a cracking gimmer. Is she good enough, wondered the sceptic – comparing them to the terminal breed Charollais. Fettercairn Show loomed and the gimmer took a trip to Barbara’s as I couldn’t transport both sheep types. I headed up with my Charollais but no Barbara (she was still trying to catch my sheep!) One lucky bramble bush later – Barbara got there with minutes to spare. My gimmer made Champion that day and the rest was history - I was hooked! Spare time is a bit scarce, I used to fill it up with curling, bowling, gliding, dog trialling, crafts, cooking, reading..................anything really! But more contracting means less time now. I was getting a bit old for shearing so trained as an ultrasound scanner, measuring back fat, eye muscle and meat marbling in pedigree cattle. It takes me from Shetland to Yorkshire so satisfies my “itchy feet” problem while still working! Still manage some tractor driving, but gave up seed potato packing, forklift driving, care home work, lambing away from home and shearing large numbers! Still manage to find time to make a few crooks and one of my stock tups, Blairstruie Eigg is eight years old with a fine set of horns – he must know I am eying them up as he is still going strong! I had a bit of success with Avonside Lewis before that, but more with my females. Have also shown some Aberdeen-Angus , one young bull made Reserve Junior Champion at the Perth Bull sales and went to Michael O’Leary of Ryanair in Ireland. I market lamb and beef but most of the stock goes for breeding and challenge is always to try and produce a better animal – it often seems that there is more to get perfect in a Jacob. I am now up to 20 ewes, still trying, and I’ll Gordon thanks Linda for hosting the Scotland Region Open Day 2009 probably be in a zimmer still trying!! All in the fun, and within the sociable Jacob fraternity assistance and advice is always somewhere at hand. Wouldn’t have swapped it for all the tea in China!!

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NOTABLE RAMS OF THE PAST BORDER NERO by Clive Richardson At the 1995 Northern Region Show and Sale at York I entered a four-horned shearling ewe which was later bought by the judge, George Strachan, on behalf of Mary and Alex Leggate of Strathaven in Lanarkshire. The ewe was a granddaughter of Drum Major, bred by Rena Douglas and later sold to John Young who won the championship at the Royal Highland Show with him as a two-shear ram. He was later sold to Tom and Ella Maxwell of the famous Solway flock from whom I bought him a few years later and he remained with me until his death some years later. A fine shepherd's crook crafted from one of Drum Major's top horns hangs on the wall at home. Mary and Alex ran their newly acquired shearling with Meathop Brucey, a fourhorned son of Monkhatch Reuben, bred by Stephen Harrison. Reuben had been a prolific prize winner when owned by Jean Blacknell, winning the male championship at the 1989 Royal Show before he was sold for the record price of 920 guineas at the National Show and Sale at Stafford. The ewe duly produced triplets including a two-horned ewe lamb which, as Leggates are essentially four-horned breeders, was sold at the Scottish Show and Sale at Edinburgh where I bought her. Named Molly, she proved to be an excellent breeding ewe and produced a number of very good lambs. Following my policy of introducing new blood to my flock by occasionally buying back the progeny of sheep I have previously sold, I bought a four-horned ram called Thestiles Meeshak from his breeders, George and Frances Cooper, who had shown him with success. Meeshak was out of a Border ewe and by Hyndshaw Warlord who I had bought from his breeder, Helen Baillie, and used for a couple of seasons before selling him on to Barbara Johnston. Before Meeshak was sold on to Jean Blacknell, he ran with Molly and the result was twin four horned tup lambs. One, unfortunately, was kicked by a horse and killed, the other was Border Nero. Although not lambed until the end of February, Nero was a well-grown lamb and he won his class at ten of the fifteen shows he was taken to that year. The following summer he caught the eye of Helen Baillie when she judged at Cumberland County Show where he stood reserve champion, being beaten on the day by my breeding ewe, Border Amber, whose progeny in subsequent years would include Border Topaz, reserve female champion at the Royal Show, and Border Lancer, champion at the Royal Welsh and reserve champion at the Royal Highland. At the National Show and Sale at Stafford a few weeks later Nero won the championship under judge, Barbara Webster, and Helen bought him for 700 guineas. A big four-square sheep with a lengthy and deep carcase and plenty of bone, Nero,

like many big sheep of all breeds, was perhaps a little on the plain side and he could have had better quality wool but he more than made up for this with his substance and his prepotency, passing on to his progeny all his best qualities with consistency. He clicked well with Helen Baillie's big, quality ewes and produced many first and second generation champions for Helen's Hyndshaw flock before being sold on to Howard Walsh who also used him with success for two seasons before I bought him back. Once again, I used Nero on my ewes to help maintain the size and carcase quality and I retained a number of his daughters, both two and four horned, some of which have been shown with great success, before selling him on to Robert Locker where as an old ram he ended his days. Mainly through the widespread influence of Hyndshaw sheep within the breed, Nero's progeny have found their way into two-horned and four-horned flocks the length and breadth of the country and his name pops up with surprising regularity in pedigrees. Over 100 first generation and over 300 2nd generation progeny are registered to him in the flock book, and his far-flung progeny still win in the show ring today.

Border Nero

From the Lambing Shed THE YELLOW AND THE GREEN

from Anna Milner at the Knowlton Flock

Last year we made quite a difference in numbers when we had a big flock reduction so this year’s lambing with the smaller head count meant we had plenty of room in the barn and lots more to spare. The ewes were scanned and all but two who had appeared to return to the ram, came into the barn just four days before they were due to lamb on January 6th. We left the other two out in the field as I sometimes wonder if being inside for too long makes them short of exercise and therefore not too keen to actually push their lambs out when the time eventually comes. I remember one year, when we housed extra early due to very bad weather, we found that nearly everyone needed lambing assistance and I put it down to them becoming lazy layabouts indoors, but I could have been wrong about that. We started off two days early when John found Rachel at 2am with a couple of really strong lambs already licked dry and feeding so they only needed the iodine routine and moving in to a clean pen. It’s always good to get the first one out of the way with no problems and a feeling of optimism starts to pervade the barn. The next night at 4am two ewes scanned for triplets were both producing when I got there. I collected a mug of coffee from the kitchen and sat there ready with the iodine and waited for the rest to arrive. It was already one all by then. Very shortly Saffron had her three safely and Rosie had four! With triplets we always give them at least one stomach tube feed of sheep’s colostrum that we buy from Cornwall so I popped indoors for enough colostrum for seven lambs! It’s in little ice cube bags so is very quick to defrost and warm. I sat there doing all the seven tubes trying to make sure I did not get mixed up and give one lamb two feeds and miss one altogether. Just as I was nearly through John appeared, as he had realised that I had been a long time out of bed and might be having problems. It’s always nice to see a friendly face in the middle of the night and it was great that he was there to help straw down some pens and move the new mums into them. We give the triplet/quad mums a double size pen as I always worry that they might lie on one but our Jacobs never actually seem to. One of John and Anna Milner's ewes with her lamb

The next morning I noticed John walking rather rapidly up the field nearest to the house towards

one of the remaining ewes left out in the field. The weather had been horrendous all night and just at that moment it seemed to be the ‘eye of the storm’ and the wind and rain had stopped for a short while. John came back to say that Saskia, one of the outside ewes scanned for a triplet, had produced a lamb! We went into overdrive and got her back inside before the weather broke again and she duly produced the other two with no problems. The raddle colour is always yellow for the first tupping cycle and green for the next one and Saskia definitely did have a bright green bottom. The ram must have just wondered what new colour we had painted on his chest and tried it out to see! So we would only have to wait for one ewe to lamb in seventeen days’ time after all. We always take away any lambs beyond two after twenty four hours with mum so by the following morning, we already had three lambs ready to go onto the Shepherdess warm milk feeder with a heat lamp over the pen. We give these lambs a quick glop of anti-watery mouth medicine just as an insurance policy. As long as you get them into the automatic system at a very young age, they take to it readily. These had lessons on the teats that morning and a couple more assisted drinking sessions during the day and by the evening they were helping themselves and totally self-sufficient. The huge amount they drink is unbelievable and it’s best not to notice the price when you go to buy some more. By the end of lambing we were very pleased with our lambs and even the final ewe lambed on the correct day. All the lambs are healthy and growing rapidly and the statistics gave a lambing percentage of 237% and a ram to ewe ration of just over two to one. We have never had such a large imbalance before but we certainly do have some very nice ram lambs so perhaps it is justified as long as it doesn’t happen too often!

From Geraldine Fletcher, Member number 3721:

We sponge our ewes every year in order to get early lambs for showing. This year 7 of our 13 ewes have lambed and we have 13 lambs some of which look very promising. Each year I hear stories of other breeders and their successes with sponging, I read in the Spring 2010 Journal that one breeder’s ewes all lambed within 5 days. I don’t know how that can be managed, especially with shearlings. Usually about half of our ewes lamb as planned at the beginning of January, a

couple more will have repeated and lamb about the 3rd week of January. As for the rest of them, they will have their lambs as they please until about the end of March. This year we are overwintering just one ram and the late lambing ewes are keeping him company in a little field at the back of our shed which stays reasonably dry in the winter. Yesterday, to my horror, I saw him â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;workingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, bless him, which means that our last lambs will be due at the end of June!

Geraldine with one of her lambs which can be traced back to her first Jacob ewe

BLACKALLER FLOCK 3357J

Ewes and Rams for Sale Dartmoor honey and honeycombe available to buy according to the season. Contact Peter Hunt near Bovey Tracy Tel: 01647440322 email: peter@beeindevon.co.uk Notes from the lambing shed – Beverley Parker at the Needwood Flock As I write this it is early February, well below freezing in the day time – we have only one tap running and thirty four sheep, two horses and two cows and calves housed. My arms resemble those of an orang-utan and I have adopted a similar shuffling gait as it is impossible to stand on the sheer ice of the yard. I am sure there is a very good reason why we choose to lamb in January and February – a decision we make in August when its nice and warm and the horrors of frostbite, chilblains and a permanently dripping nose are a distant memory. I just can’t remember what that very good reason is ….. So far 26 ewes have lambed with no problems. We have had one or two large single ram lambs which we have assisted. Sometimes they seem to have

enormous horn bumps which get stuck on the ridge of the pelvis and need a bit of a twist and turn to free the lambs head. Painful for the ewe as well as the shepherd! A couple of lambs have had legs back but each time I have been able to bring one leg forward to lamb in what I call the “superman” position – I’m sure you get the idea. We’ve had just one set of triplets which I have left on the ewe as she seems to be coping well and the lambs are growing well and nibbling a bit of creep feed. I have two cade lambs as their mother has little or no milk. She’s very poor and is destined for the barren ewes at market I think. After a shaky start and a touch of pneumonia they are doing well. Just 8 ewes left to lamb this year. We cut down our numbers dramatically last year (from 54 ewes) as we were unsure about our grazing. We have had lots of visitors to our lambing pens – with two lambing courses and groups of students a couple of times of week. I teach animal care and horse riding at a school/children’s home for girls aged 14 to 19 who have a range of emotional and behavioural conditions ranging from autism to deep-seated psychological problems. Some have been in trouble with the police or have abused alcohol or drugs. To see them handling a new-born lamb with tears running down their face is priceless. They absolutely love their visits here and are looking forward to the birth of their own Jacob lambs in April from four Needwood ewes. As ever we are tight for space – no matter how many sheds you put up somehow they always end up full – I’m sure someone has given a name to this syndrome which seem to afflict farmers everywhere. So the hay and straw is outside on pallets and sheeted up – we are using 3 big Heston bales of hay a week at the moment – good job we make our own as I wouldn’t like to have to buy it in. The cattle are in one shed with the bales we are using stacked to one side. The other shed is completely taken up by sheep with the lambing pens in one bay and the other two bays and yard area for ewes that have yet to lamb and a group of ewes and lambs. We don’t plan on turning any ewes and lambs out until the lambs are about 6 weeks old, preferring to house them and feed hay. Finally, many Society members will remember our former secretary Annabel Briggs, who sadly passed away on 4 February. Annabel lived nearby and we bought a couple of quad cade lambs from Annabel when we were first starting out. One of them, Mavis, is still around although pensioned off and living a life of luxury at the holding across the road from where she was born. Annabel was a lovely lady, who always had time for people and I know that she will be missed by many.

Can any other member beat this? This ewe has had two sets of triplets this year! She lambed triplets in on 27 January and this trio were born on 17 September. We had two other ewes who also produced two crops of lambs this year, both having twins in January and a further single each in September. None of our other ewes have been so prolific! Beverley Parker

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New Members since 13/10/2011 16th Feb 2012 Mr C Muraska, Mains of Clunymore, Dufftown, Keith, Aberdeenshire AB55 4EA ! ! Flock 4873 (Clunymore) Mrs S Coventry, 20, Winchester Road, Kingsclere, Newbury, Berkshire RG20 5PX ! ! Flock 4877 Mrs J Cammack, Yew Tree Farm House, Common Lane, Betley, Crewe Cheshire CW3 9AL ! ! Flock 4876 (Betley) Mrs L Semenenko, Carn Vean, Tretheage Mill, Stithians, Truro, Cornwall. TR3 7BY ! ! Flock 4862 (Carn Vean) Mrs DL Badcock, Bowden House, Bowden Close, Crook, County Durham, DL1 0RP! ! Flock 4859 (Bowden) Mr & Mrs Carr, Skiddaw View Holiday Park, Bothel, Wigton, Cumbria. CA7 2JN ! ! Flock 4866 (Skiddaw) Mr & Miss Hrynkow & Hagon, 5, Linsty Green, Backbarrow, Ulverston, Cumbria. LA12 8QE ! ! Flock 4884 (Rusland) Mr J Collier, Poynton Cross Farm, Windmill, Tideswell, Buxton, Derbyshire. SK17 8RE! ! Flock 4886 Mrs AG Coate, The Racing Stables, Garlandhaves, Clayhidon, Cullompton, Devon. EX15 3TT! Flock 4861 (Flintstone) Miss BC Keenor, Lower Nymet Farm, Lapford, Crediton, Devon. EX17 6AE! ! Flock 4869 (Lower Nymet) Mr & Mrs Nottley, Tor Grove Farm, Rix Hill, Tavistock, Devon. PL19 9EQ! ! Flock 4880 (Tor Grove) Mrs TA Holman, Northcombe, Moretonhampstead Road, Bovey Tracey, Devon. TQ13 9NH! ! Flock 4887 (Northcombe) Mr J Race, Pinmill, Norlington Lane, Ringmer, East Sussex. BN8 5SH! ! Flock 4867 Mr & Mrs Leonard, 104 Trem Twyn Barlum, Two Locks, Cumbran, Gwent NP44 7HR ! ! Flock 4878 (Swn-y-Don) Mr & Mrs Trantor, Hill Barn Bungalow, Aymestry, Hereford, Herefordshire. HR6 9SR ! ! Flock 4864 (Morty) Mr N Benson, 2 The Barn, 143, North Road, Hertford, Hertfordshire. SG4 2BX! ! Flock 4872 (Fleets) Mrs J Patterson, Wolverton Manor, Shorwell, Isle of Wight PO30 3JS! ! Flock 4865 Mr TK Kemp, Kingswood Manor Farm, Kingston, Canterbury, Kent. CT4 6JP!! ! Flock 4875 (Kingswood) Mr GN Bachelor, 5 Aspley Grove, Trawden, Nr Colne, Lancashire. BB8 8QX! ! Flock 4860 (Bougtgap) Mr & Mrs Bent, Deans Farm, Landside, Leigh, Lancashire. WN7 3RY ! ! Flock 4868 (Landside) Ms AB Eason, Braestones, Long Causeway, Cliviger, Burnley, Lancashire. BB10 4RN ! ! Flock 4870 (Braestones)

Mr D Hoare, Crag View, 10, Main Street, Embsey, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 6RE! ! Flock 4871 ( Crag View) Mrs Watson-Beswick, 1, Field House Cottages, Lesbury, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 3BQ! ! Flock 4879 (Causeypark) Mrs G Pargeter, Pen y Lan, Llanfyllin, Powys. SY22 %et ! ! Flock 4882 (Pargeter) Mrs H McCormick, Girthill Farm, Warlock Road, Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire DA11 3SR! ! Flock 4881 (Weir) Mr & Mrs Foxley, 4, The Yelves, Hinstock, Market Draton, Shropshire TF9 2NQ! ! Flock 4883 (Sevley) Mr & Mra Rothen, Rose Hill Farm, Quarry Lane, Mancetter, Warwickshire. CV9 2RB! ! Flock 4885 (Rothen) Mr D Robertson, Easterhoos Farm, Cobbinshaw, West Calder, West Lothian. EH55 8LN! ! Flock 2549 (Easterhoos) Dr LA Brown, Mill Leat, West Gomeldon, Salisbury, Wiltshire. SP4 6JY ! ! Flock 4874 (Mill Leat)

Est 2009 4651J

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My Storybook Visit to England by Jacalyn Post Hello. I live in Northern California where I have a small spinnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flock of sheep (four Jacobs, two Navajo-Churros, two Shetlands, one Wensleydale and one Karakul). I am a spinner and knitter and a relatively new weaver and enjoy working with a variety of wool, especially from rare and heritage sheep breeds.

Jacalyn during her weaving course

Last year I saw an advertisement for a residential rug weaving course by Jason Collingwood in Nayland, near Colchester. I decided that seemed like an interesting reason to make my first trip to England. Besides learning to weave a rug in his style, however, I wanted to see if there would be a way to visit some British Sheep breeds and learn more about these sheep that we do not have in the States.

With help from the Jacob Sheep Society, and just some plain luck, I was able to put together a fantastic trip. I arrived and quickly learned to really appreciate the train system. We have nothing like it in California (or most of the U.S.). I was able to get to Colchester using the Heathrow Express, the Tube to Liverpool Street Station and then a train to Colchester. Through the help of Lisa Adams of the Jacob Sheep Society I was able to make contact with Trish Baker to see her Jacobs. Trish kindly picked me up at the Stowmarket station and took me to her farm in Woolpit. I felt like Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d stepped into Wonderland. We spent a very pleasurable day discussing the differences between English and American Jacob Sheep. I learned about how white legs are valued, amongst other differences. Trish kindly fed me

Jacalyn's finished rug

lunch and got me back to the train station so I could rest up from my jet lag before tackling my upcoming five day rug weaving course. The next day, Jason Collingwood picked me up in Colchester and took me to the little village of Nayland where his workshop is located. Over the course of five long days I was able to complete a 3 x 5 wool rug using the shaft-switching technique his father, Peter Collinglwood, developed. It was an amazing experience and I learned enough to know that I want to weave more rugs in this style!

Sheep being auctioned at the Eastern Region Show & Sale

Next adventure: the Traditional Native Breed Show and Sale at Melton Mowbray. Lisa had told me about this as I prepared for my trip. So, I was able to schedule my weaving course so as to finish in time to attend most of the show and sale. Getting there involved taking three trains from Colchester to Melton Mowbray - a journey well worth the effort. I found the train station agents to be extremely helpful, especially to someone unused to traveling by train. (I also discovered there are many different kinds of doors on the various trains and was worried I was going to get stuck on one until I saw that you had to reach out the window to open the door!)

I have never seen anything like the market and show/sale at Melton Mowbray. When we show sheep in the States it is mostly at county or state fairs or at Wool Festivals. Typically, there are not a lot of opportunities at these to sell your sheep (although I have heard of some in the Eastern U.S.). I found sheep people in England to be like sheep people in the States – very welcoming and willing to talk about their sheep. I met many exhibitors there and Lisa kindly explained the auction system – buying “off the boards” – a totally new concept to me! The Portland Sheep people graciously invited me to their impromptu celebration when one of their sheep took first place in the Interbreed Championship on Friday. I had a chance to speak with the Hebridean Sheep people (and bought a sheepskin rug to take home with me). I also spent time with

the only Galway Sheep exhibitor there and wrangled an invitation the next day to visit their sheep – as I said, sheep people are very kind and friendly! I was able to stock up on gifts from the various vendors at the show for my sheep friends back home. I was so inspired to see the various rare breeds on exhibit that I plan to join the Rare Breed Society that we have here in the States (American Livestock Breed Conservancy). These organizations and the breed society groups are doing a fantastic job of helping to educate the public about these rare, endangered, and threatened breeds of livestock. I titled this article “My Storybook Visit to England” because that is what it felt like – a magical trip to rural England, a trip I will always remember.

Letter to the Editor From Richard & Lloyd Wilson – Member number 4720 We read with interest the articles in the Journal about registering ewe lambs. We were guilty of registering all our ewe lambs in November 2010 before fully assessing them. So in February 2011 we cast a very critical eye over them and decided to sell 5 of the 11 lambs at Carlisle in the prime market. Job done we believed, 2 with dodgy horns, gone, 1 too white and 1 too black, gone, and the final ewe lamb too small for its age, gone. Just quality left and very satisfied we were with the lambs we had selected to keep. We were also very satisfied with the price we received for these prime ewe lambs, an average of £103 per head. We must fill in some background at this point, we live on a large farm that rents summer grassland to local farmers. In April, the locals began to stock the farm with sheep and cattle and guess what arrived in the field in front of our cottage, the 5 ewe lambs that were sold prime in Carlisle in February! It turned out that a neighbour had seen the lambs in the auction and got a local dealer to buy them for him. Being double tagged he had decided to keep them for shearling breeders. Well every morning this summer when we opened our bedroom curtains, guess what greeted us, yes those 5 Jacob reject sheep. With their odd horns and poor facial markings it became almost painful at times. They’ve gone now, thank goodness, but we are not looking forward to the prospect of them returning in Spring 2012 with lambs at foot. It just goes to show, that however careful and selective you are, there is always someone out there to thwart you. Not to be left in a similar predicament this year, the dodgy ewe lambs have not been registered and sent to direct slaughter.

Letter to the Editor"

Buyer Beware!

I am new to the Jacob breed but have kept a small flock of mainly crossed sheep for the past fifteen years and worked on a large hill farm for ten years. Three years ago I decided for various reasons that I would like to cross from a pure breed, I had had two Jacob ewes in the past and knew how good the cross lambs were from them and what a delight they were to keep. Through the society web site I contacted a breeder and bought three ewe lambs, the following summer two well grown ewe lambs were bought at a society sale, followed by a gimmer and a smaller ewe lamb at a later society sale and finally a tup lamb from a breeder. So I had my starter flock – but what else had I acquired? The problems came with the first two well-grown ewe lambs bought at a society sale, from different breeders. The first problem was scab annoying but treatable. Thankfully she was in a field without a shared boundary so no worry of smiting my neighbour. The second problem, the same ewe lamb that had scab aborted her lambs. Having not had a case of abortion here before I took the foetuses for veterinary investigation and was horrified to find it was enzootic. The third problem resulted in the death of the other ewe lamb from a disease totally unknown to me called Jaagsiekte, the unpronounceable name is Afrikaans for ‘driving sickness’ a terrible end for a sheep. By this time I felt desperate what do I do next? – Whose got what? So after much searching and question asking, this is what I found: Enzootic abortion is caused by a bacterium Chalamydophila abortus that attacks the cotyledons of the placenta in the last three weeks of the pregnancy. When the sheep aborts enormous numbers of bacteria are shed in the afterbirth but they continue to be shed for up to seven weeks - the ewe will not abort again in subsequent pregnancies but she can still shed the bacteria, so keeping ewe lambs from an aborted ewe or twinning ewe lambs on to an aborted and keeping them for breeding or worse – selling them for breeding carries a very high risk of passing infection. Learning this I can see why culling has been put to me as the only way to eradicate the disease - but being a small flock I took the step of blood testing all seventeen breeding ewes. Two sheep proved positive, the Jacob lamb that aborted and a Jacob lamb that was in her company when she aborted. With the strategic use of long acting antibiotic and isolation and with the knowledge that their ewe lambs or indeed any ewe lambs twinned on to them are at very high risk of infection. I shall keep them, as crossing material only. Jaagsiekte is a tumour of the lung, caused by a virus. There is no diagnostic test and no cure it is always fatal, affecting mainly two to three year old sheep.

Reading the textbook in retrospect, my unfortunate ewe lamb followed the pattern exactly. Thinking back she had a slight cough over the winter. I jagged her with antibiotic once or twice but she was not unwell so I thought nothing of it. She lambed two small weak lambs, they needed help for their first suckle but that was all. (At the time I wondered if she had picked up Enzootic she lambed four weeks after the first ewe lamb aborted.) Her dramatic decline took just short of six weeks. She was eating keeping up with the other ewes, but I did notice her breathing was different… not laboured or puffy but as if she was breathing deeply using the full capacity of her rib cage. She lost weight and became weak – she would trip with her back legs when moved but, still no lack of appetite and alert. She was in a pen for what turned out to be her last night with what I can only describe as a grim determination to stay on her feet; her muzzle resting on the top rung of a gate. At the point of death she had literally collapsed to her knees, a huge puddle of liquid accumulated coming from her nose and mouth. The vet carried out a post mortem, took lung samples and said “Jaagsiekte” straight away, later confirmed by the lab. Both of these diseases are difficult to deal with. Only veterinary investigation can give diagnosis and that is expensive. Jaagsiekte with no diagnostic test and the fact that many sheep succumb to pneumonia before the disease runs its full course can go undetected. Enzootic abortion although being one of the most common causes of abortion can go undetected because of the ‘just one of those things’ attitude with the sheer fact that there are many agents and causes of abortion. Housing is strongly implicated with the spread of both of these diseases, a vet advising to never house bought in ewe or tup lambs to help guard against Jaagsiekte. I now have to watch and wait and hope but there is the question, was this bad luck or an indication? Should sellers of breeding stock be prepared to investigate every case of pneumonia or abortion? A good starting point for more information is www.nadis.org.uk this is a web site for farmers and won’t blind you with science!………….believe me there is plenty of science!! Editor’s note: Enzootic Abortion is brought into a flock through the purchase of infected ewes or lambs which is why all bought-in females should be routinely vaccinated against the disease according to manufacturer's instructions. A carrier ewe can only pass on the disease at lambing time, and there is no evidence that rams play any part in spreading the disease. Jaagsiekte, which is a chronic progressive disease of the lungs, has a long incubation period making it difficult to detect the disease in the early stages but, once diagnosed, all affected animals should be slaughtered to inhibit its spread as there is no effective treatment available. Both these diseases pose a potential risk to all breeders when establishing a flock or buying in replacement females but the former can be vaccinated against and the latter is, fortunately, comparatively rare.

JACLUB REPORT- FEB 2012. The two winners of the JACLUB webpage word-search competition were Cameron Wainwright and Eleanor Cassie. They managed to find the hidden Christmas Carol ( While Shepherds watched…) so well done to them. The winners of the Central Region Young Handlers Competitions for 2011 were Caitlin and Seren Carpenter respectively in the senior competition and Abbie Higginson in the junior competition (picture in Central region report). There have been competitions held in other regions and I would be pleased to have any other results to publish. It has just been announced that there will be a “Young Handlers Day” on August 12th 2012 by kind invitation of Janet East at her farm near Honiton in Devon. More details will be available soon on the South West Region Page on the website.

John Fozzard kindly obtained sponsorship to provide JACLUB and other Young Shepherds with a copy of the great new Lambing Note Books. I have sent out a number of these already, but if you know of any young people associated with a Jacob Sheep Society Flock who would like one, the please let me know as soon as possible. On the subject of lambing I would love to have pictures of any youngsters with their favourite lamb of this year. A story about this lamb would be even better! These will then be put on the JACLUB webpage. It was brought to our notice that it would be advisable for there to be written permission from a parent, for any image of a child, that we may receive in the future and use on the JACLUB page or in the Journal or for any breed advertising promotions. This permission can be on a continuous basis or as a “one-off” for each image provided. A copy of this form is available on the JSS website or elsewhere in this Journal. If any parent wishes to discuss the implications of this form, then please do not hesitate to contact me. We have always aimed to use the images kindly provided so far, of children, responsibly, but this form just clarifies the future use of any of these pictures. I hope that noone will be put off by this extra bit of form filling- not my favourite thing either! So please keep on sending these great pictures of the youngsters being involved with their Jacob Sheep- it gives us all such confidence for the breed in the future! Hayley Higginson hayley@meadowland-flock.co.uk- tel: 01260 299851.

Activities available for young people. JACLUB

This is open to children who have not obtained their twelfth birthday. The children are invited to submit articles, pictures and poems etc. for the Society website. It is a nice way for younger children to be involved with the Sheep Society and to encourage their interest. For further details contact Hayley Higginson. Meadow View House, 162, Holmes Chapel Road, Somerford, Congleton, Cheshire. CW12 4QB 01260 299851 www.hayley@meadowlandflock.co.uk

YOUNG HANDLERS’ COMPETITION

This is held on an annual basis and moves around the regions. It is open to all young people who have not obtained their 18th birthday. Entry is free and the competition is

preceded by a workshop to help those who have little or no knowledge of showing and help will be given to younger children. There are three classes; Novice, Junior and Senior. This year the competition will be held in Devon by kind invitation of Mrs Janet East on Sunday August 12th. For further details and to enter please see all the details on the Jacob Sheep Society website www.jacobsheep.org.uk

JUNIOR SHEPHERDSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; GROUP

This is a new group with no formal membership. Workshops will be held for the education of young people from 12 years to18 years. The workshops will be run on a national basis but it is hoped that they will be held in various regions they will be organised by the Field Officer and the Regional Council Member. They will be funded from the Pat Bromley Bequest so attendance will be free, speakers will be qualified and sheep will be available for demonstrations. If you would be interested in taking part in one of these training days please contact your Regional Council member to see what can be arranged. For further details please contact the Field Officer Mrs Jean Blacknell, Loynton Farm, Loynton, Stafford. ST20 0QA 01785 284 229 jeanblacknell@aol.com

YOUNG PERSON OF THE YEAR

A nomination form and details will be found on the website www.jacobsheep.org.uk. Members will be able to nominate a young person who they feel deserves to win The Pat Bromley Trophy for their hard work with Jacob sheep or contribution to the society. It should be noted that success in the show ring is not taken into consideration.

Akesmere Farm Bed and Breakfast Little Budworth Enjoy a relaxing break at our friendly Cheshire farmhouse. Visitors are welcome to inspect Akesmereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Alpacas and its flock of Jacob sheep. Horse accommodation, yard parking and home cooking all available. Open all year round. Handmade items for sale from our own fleeces. Contact Dianne: tel:01829 760348 - 07836 545611 Akesmere farm, Chester road, Little Budworth, Tarporley, CW6 9ER akesmerefarm@hotmail.com

South West Region – Regional Council Member – Angela Gilbert January this year has been more like April, with camellias and rhododendrons flowering here much too early. I hope we do not get too many late frosts and all of us that lamb later in mid February are very envious of those that have now finished in this mild and dry weather. I hope you all now have lambs you are proud of. At the Regional AGM in late October members asked if we could investigate the possibility of a Regional Show & Sale or a Sale. Those who are on e-mail will have received a Questionnaire in late January and I am most grateful to all those that responded. The other members will receive this with The Journal, so please could you fill it up a.s.a.p and post back. I have also asked the Regional Council members of adjoining regions if they could pass on this Questionnaire to their members so we can see the level of support. If we are to have an official Jacob Show & Sale we additionally will need the approval of Council. Planning for regional events this year is well under way. We hope that a reasonable number of young members or member’s children or grandchildren will support a Young Handler’s Day in the Region on August 12th. Each youngster can each bring a friend if they like. This will be at Payhembury near Exeter, thanks to Janet East who lives on a farm quite central to the whole region. The idea is to show them how to choose a Jacob for showing, then how to halter train and get ready for showing. We will also cover basic skills of how to look after sheep’s feet and worm them. In the afternoon all youngsters can have a go at showing ...probably a lamb. If there are several age groups we will split these up. Please can you return your application forms promptly? We have also been organising the Open Day on July 1st. Earlier dates were rejected at the AGM as they did not allow enough time for some members to prepare their sheep for the main shows in the SW. Judy Bell is helping to organise a good day out at her farm. Her friend will give a demonstration of felt making, and hopes that some members will actually make something during the day. There will also be a demonstration of hand shearing and also trimming a sheep for show and also a short sheepdog demonstration. Jean Blacknell hopes to show newer members the difference between a good Jacob and one with faults, assuming Judy has some of the latter! Also don’t forget to bring your best fleeces for judging for the South West Wool Cup.

The flock assessment and competition entry forms are also enclosed. If you want you can hand the completed forms in at The Open Day. We are very lucky to have David Tuffney from Nottingham and John Fozzard from Yorkshire as our judges for the week-end of 22nd/23rd September. If you are a newer member this is an especially good way to get your flock assessed by judges from outside our region. Please do all support this. We need your application forms returned by September 1st at the very latest, so we can organise the judges’ route round the flocks etc. We would also ask you to have them already penned up on the day at the time you are given. This year if you hire a ram and he is not present on the day, you must give a copy of the ram’s registration certificate to the judges on the day. The Breed Promotion Regional Stand and our new pull-up banner will be at Devon County, Royal Bath & West, and as FibreFest is not happening this year it is hoped that the stand will also be present at The Royal Cornwall as well. Please go and make yourselves known to Vicki Hammond, Charlotte and Christopher Slee who will be manning the stands on the three days of each show. I hope to be there on the first day of each to help out and look forward to seeing you.

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Please contact us to discuss your ideas: we are very happy to talk 49

WELSH REGIONAL REPORT –Regional Council member – Siwan Harries As I write this spring report, the lambing shed at the Hope is quiet! All Jacobs are nearly finished, but another 85 to come in and start all over again at the end of February. This year we have installed a farm CCTV camera that as helped us, due to me not being able to assist hands on with the lambing and Wyn working as well. The CCTV has come in very handy as it gives Wyn some time to sleep, as I can watch the sheep from the laptop, and only wake Wyn up if something is in difficulty or if miss mothering is about to happen, and as we scan the sheep if a single or multi comes and is happy, I leave them to it ... so he can catch up with sleep! Wales Region finished 2011 with a good Christmas dinner, Wales’s members and friends gathered at Llandeilo in early December for our annual prize presentation of flock competition results, young handler results and wool cup results.11 flocks entered the competition and most flocks took home some prizes. The judges were Wales‘s field officer, Mark Wakelin, and Irish judge Karl Gill. Flock Results Best Home Bred Ram 1st - Wyn & Siwan Harries, 2nd - Arwel Jones, 3rd - Richards Family, 4th - Caroline Lewis Best Ram Used This Season 1st - Owain Jenkins, 2nd - Richards Family, 3rd - S Harries, 4th - Brenda Howell Best Homebred Ram Lamb 1st - James Leonard, 2nd - Wyn & Siwan Harries, 3rd - Viv Martin, 4th - Tom Banning Best Shearling Ewe 1st - James Leonard, 2nd - Viv Martin, 3rd - Owain Jenkins, 4th - Arwel Jones Best Group Of Shearling Ewe's 1st- James Leonard, 2nd - Owain Jenkins, 3rd - Arwel Jones, 4th- Brenda Howell Best Ewe Lamb 1st - Viv Martin, 2nd - Wyn & Siwan Harries, 3rd - Brenda Howell, 4th - Tom Banning 'Lily' Our Youngest Of The Day receives her award from Mark our judge Best Group Of Ewe Lambs 1st - Viv Martin, 2nd - Wyn & Siwan Harries, 3rd - Brenda Howell, 4th - Arwel Jones Best Small Flock 1st - Caroline Lewis, 2nd - S Harries, 3rd - Viv Martin, 4th - Arwel Jones. Best Large Flock 1st - Wyn & Siwan Harries, 2nd - Richards Family, 3rd - Owain Jenkins, 4th - Brenda Howell

Pictured above 'Most Of The Competitors” that entered The Flock Competition Wales Wool Cup Champion & Rese

Winner Brenda Howell Pictured Centre

Mark Wakelin presents Owain with the Young Handler Award Young Handler in Wales 2011 - Owain Jenkins. Owain has only been a member for the last few years and is a keen one at that. He has taken to showing at the shows like he’s been at it for many many years. Owain always prepares his sheep well and trims himself, He has done well throughout the season. Keep up the good work Owain!!

Dates to note: Small Holders Show – 19th & 20th May 2012 will start for many Wales members in May at the Small Holders Show weekend on the 19th & 20th May. Make a note of the date and come along for the day or the weekend and visit the sheep lines and the Jacob stand! This year the Jacob sheep classes will be judged by Wyn Harries of Hope Flock, known to have shown there on many occasions but this year will be his year to judge and take it easy .. well a little EASIER! Open Day – 26th May An open day will be held on the 26th May, at a fairly new members flock, Ross Rixon and her husband Julian farm, a small holding in Pembrokeshire. They keep pedigree Jacob sheep, Black Welsh Mountain and Shetlands. Also a herd of Alpaca‘s so quite a few different variety’s for us to have a look at. We will have a trimming demonstration and a talk. We aim to meet at 11am at their home for an AGM followed by lunch then a tour of all the sheep breeds etc. The postcode is SA34 0XB. Full directions can be seen on the Wales website. If you would like to come along then please phone or e-mail me with numbers. All welcomed! Hope to see as many of you there as possible.

Royal Welsh 23rd -26th July Jacobs will be shown on Tuesday the 24th at 3pm, judge will be Ron King. This year we will be holding a competition between Jacob sheep exhibitors, where we will have some one judge the exhibitors on their ‘shepherding skills’ on pen tidiness. Information available regarding stock and the sheep of course. Remember we all have a nice get-together after the showing where we will presenting the cups for the ‘Royal Welsh winner’ and for the ‘Shepard’. Keep an eye on the Wales region web page on the Jacob Sheep Society website for more Wales updates and results.

Finally I would like to thank everybody for their support since I stepped in as regional council member back in June. The Regional Council Member election

will be open again in the AGM in April. So you might get a new regional representative come April on. To all new and present members I hope you have had a good lambing or will have a good one when it comes around, and if I can be of any help please give me a call on 07816440851 or e- mail me at s.harries@virgin.net Best wishes for 2012 Siwan

Central Region – Regional Council Member – John Emberton The Central Region AGM and Autumn meeting was held on Sunday 27th November at the Chase Golf Club near Penkridge in Staffordshire. We were fortunate to have as guest speaker Dr Malgorzata Behnke. BVSc PhD PgCertHE MRCVS. Gosia is a lecturer in Animal Science at Harper Adams University College and spoke of the parasites which can affect our sheep, dogs and us. Members were perhaps surprised that such a subject could be both engaging and entertaining, but I didn’t notice anyone being put off the excellent lunch which followed. The meeting was also the opportunity to announce the winners in the young handlers points competition, who were: The winners in the young handlers points competition Champion: Caitlin Carpenter, Runner up: Seren Carpenter, Best junior: Abigail Higginson.

Our next meeting will be an open day at the Firtree flock, Fillongley near Coventry on Sunday 27th May by kind invitation of Jane and Alan Nightingale. Full details are in the flier enclosed with this Journal. 2012 is also a Flock Competition year and full details of that and the entry form are also enclosed with the Journal. As always, I would urge newer members to think of entering this competition as, apart from the competitive aspect, the process is designed to give feedback to participants on their flock management and breeding policies.

This year, Hanbury Horse Show will become Hanbury Countryside Show, to include livestock, poultry and other aspects of country life. ThereÂ will be Jacob classes. The date is 7th July, and the venue is Park Hall, Hollowfields Road, Hanbury Worcs. For further information contact Andrew Perry on 07786 312002.

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Eastern Region - Regional Council member – Lisa Adams Now that any reminders of the festive period have been safely confined to the attic, or the bin, it is safe to reflect on the previous year. By any standards, 2011 had terrific year for the Eastern region with several new members, a thriving show and sale and a very enjoyable Open day. Agricultural shows in our region had a fantastic entry of Jacob sheep forward and the Open day was very well attended. Thoughts soon progress to the matters in hand and since this is the first year I haven’t scanned my expectant ewes (they were due a little earlier than the main commercial flock), I find myself anxious about the impending situation- have I fed them too much or too little? Or are the whole lot barren??? The mind boggles. Usually my Jacobs are triplet- bearing; yet the first and only two to have lambed so far are singles. However I do know that the Jacob ewes that have ran with a Texel tup scanned at 250%. At least I know to order some milk powder now…This year I will just have to put up with my “wait & see” method, though I doubt I will repeat it! We have several events on in our area this year. First we have our regional sale at Melton Market, Mrs S. Taylor (Newbury) has kindly agreed to judge on 7th & 8th September. This is followed by our regional flock competition over the weekend of 21st-23rd September and finally our end of season show at the Autumn Exhibition on Sunday 14th October. Our flock competition will be held from the 21st- 23rd September. As in previous years, there will be sections for both large and small flocks to enter in addition to classes for the best ram, ewe lamb and ewe. An entry form and further details shall be included within the next edition of the Journal. At present, we do not have a venue for our Open day but we are hoping to host it a little earlier this year (due to the topics we would like to cover at the event). Can anyone provide a venue and a couple of sheep for a get- together in the spring/ early summer? Feedback from members indicated that a practical day for members based on preparing and showing Jacob sheep would be very useful. As the show schedules have already found their way on to my door mat, it is a reminder that the East of England show has changed it date to run from the 6- 8th July. There is also a possibility of getting Jacob classes at Hatfield show. Lastly, since my flock and I are moving to pastures new in Devon, it leaves me to say thank you to the Eastern region for all the support over the last couple of years, I hope that the new RCM enjoys it as much as I have!

Best wishes, Lisa

Southern Region – Regional Council Member – Daphne Rice We held our first regional AGM on 27th November at Holmbury Farm, the home of Richard and Virginia Lloyd. After the business of the AGM was finished, which included a summary of what had been happening during the past year at Council by our Chairman, we all very appropriately enjoyed a hot lunch of mutton casserole! During the lunch we had a “tutored tasting” by Say Cheese, a husband and wife team who run a cheese business, on line and at Farmer’s markets. They are very knowledgeable and entertaining, and geared their talk entirely to English sheep cheeses. The variety is quite astonishing, ranging from soft creamy cheeses right through to hard and blue!

At the meeting Chris Bone was presented with the new Novice cup for the best result by a novice at shows in the region. Chris got reserve champion at Kent Show with her ram lamb and also won the new Aldington cup for the best Jacob fleece. The regional committee have been kept very busy organising the AGM and by the time you read this it will be almost upon us.Other regional committees will know how much work goes into this event and the southern region looks forward to welcoming many of you that weekend . Next year we will be having an Open day in Kent at the home of Fiona Gordon on 24th June. We will also be arranging an Open Day, with the AGM, in October, venue yet to be confirmed. I realise there will be much said in this journal about the sad news of Lady A, but as she was a member of this region I can’t let this go without a mention. She was always very involved in the region. No sooner would she have received a regional newsletter than I would have a phone call, congratulating me on the contents and

maybe pointing out the odd error! She unfailingly attended the Kent County Show and until well into her eighties manned the stand sleeping in the tent for three nights. She was there as ever last year, plying the helpers with smoked salmon sandwiches and fruit cake! Until a few weeks before she died she was busy writing letters to potential sponsors for the AGM and who could say “No” to her. Along with many others I shall miss her phone calls, which always ended “Well done You!” She could not have a more fitting epitaph as that is what we all would like to say to her.

Irish Region-Regional Council Member- Paul Colhoun I hope for all members who have had early lambs that all has went well and that you have some potential show winners in your midst. For all our Feb and March lambing breeders I hope you have a successful lambing and not too many sleepless nights. The winter that was expected has not arrived and apart from a lot of wind and rain we have been quite fortunate so far this year. At the Kingarrow flock we have lambed 7 so far and we have had a nice mix of ewe and ram lambs. We already have people enquiring about ewe lambs and I would encourage members to get the best price possible for their lambs as there are not that many pedigree Jacob sheep in Ireland. We have set a base price of £150stg for our ewe lambs and I know that they are making considerably more in the south of Ireland, at the minute I intend only to register the ram lambs that I would be happy breeding with myself as there are too many rams being registered that are not up to breed standard. Since my last report we held our regional AGM at the Nuremore hotel in Carrickmacross and this was very well attended and at this meeting we asked Derek Brown and Gabriel McCole to join the Ireland committee. Two open days were organised and they are to be held on Sunday 13th May(Karl Gills farm) and Saturday 19th May(Dorothy Pendrys farm). We will be holding a small raffle at each of these events and would appreciate if members could bring a small raffle prize. Directions and times will be sent out with the newsletter shortly to all Ireland members. It was also decided that we will have a shepherds day to be held on Sunday 10th June at Derek Browns home in Belturbet. This day is aimed at getting all members young and old together for an afternoon to gain more knowledge about our Jacob breed and also to learn some tips for getting sheep ready for shows. This should be a very interesting and enjoyable day and I

encourage all members to join us. Please bring the family and a picnic (keep the fingers crossed for a sunny day). P.S - Please email me if you are going so that we can have an idea of numbers expected. We have decided to hold a Flock competition this year (date to be finalised) which will involve all members and two judges will be comingÂ from over the water to judge our sheep. This will benefit every member and their flock as we will get lots of useful tips and advice how to improve our sheep and this should help our region greatly. This will also be a great chance for me to meet some of our members who do not show their sheep and I look forward to this. More details to follow in the Regional newsletter. It was decided atÂ the Council meeting in London that Paypal will now be the new form of payment for our euro paying members as this is the most cost effective way to pay for subscriptions and registering sheep. I hope that all members have received their invoice via email for subscriptions due but if not please contact me asap. Please do not send any euro cheques to JSS now as they have closed the euro account, as Paypal is much more straightforward. Our field officer Jean Blacknell made a very good point about the fact that the Ireland region seems to be mostly breeding 2 horn sheep. I myself breed 2 horn sheep but intend this year to bring in a few nice 4 horn hoggets to see how they work for me. As you can see from the picture of Peter Lynch with his 4 horn ram we have some very nice 4 horn sheep in Ireland and it would be a shame to mainly focus on the two horn. It was decided at the Ireland AGM to buy two gazebos and two more banners to use at shows in the North and South. We have a full line up of shows again this year and Balmoral and Fingal show have been added as well. A full list of shows will be sent in the Regional newsletter and will also be available on the Jacob Sheep Society webpage (Ireland Region). Any members who have not shown before but are interested please contact me as these are very enjoyable days out and are a great way to meet other members. I would like to thank all members who sold tickets for our raffle 2011. Results of raffle winners; (Drawn at Nuremore hotel 16th Oct) 1st - Bridget Maguire, 2nd Aimee Davis, 3rd - Gabriel McCole

Peter Lynch from Castlederg with his four horned ram that won the ram class at Clogher show

Scottish Region - Regional Council Member - Gordon Connor Our bi-annual Open day was held at Mike Munro Kinloch Farm Cupar Fife. This turned out to be a very interesting day for those who wanted to view two different Jacob Flocks this being pedigree and commercial. Mike like most of us Jacob breeders has also a day job but is very busy working to promote a Jacob carcass for commercial use. Mike supplies “Hog Roast” a local outlet with Jacob from his farm. A very good and interesting day was had by all with a few competitions to fill in the gaps. Both competitions were surprisingly won by husband & wife Mr & Mrs Harvey Lonebield Carlops. The hospitality again was second to none with Mike’s mother and aunt serving the buffet which they had prepared for the Jacob members. The most disappointing aspect of the day was the lack of Jacob members. Although there was a good turn out of people this was made up of mostly invited guests by Mike. If we want to continue with our Open Day’s we need more members attending these days. Any of us who has previously held an Open Day will know the hard work that is put in to make the event happen so to make this rewarding we only ask for your attendance. A big thanks once again to Mike and his helpers to have us for the day.

A committee meeting was held at Quality Hotel Ingliston Edinburgh on 6th November 2011. This was very well attended by all committee members. Various topics were spoken about but the main ones are as follow. Our judge for our Scottish Region Show & Sale 7th August 2012 at St.Boswells was confirmed as Mr.Stephen Harrison Low Meathop Cumbria. Stephen who runs a dairy unit with his family and keeps 40 registered pedigree Jacobs is no stranger at St.Boswells. Over the years Stephen has purchased many Jacobs from this sale. We look forward to welcoming Stephen as our judge this year. Staying with judges and now our bi annual Flock Competition which will commence Friday 12th October – Sunday 14th October. Two judges also confirmed for this are Stephen Dodsworth from South Lund North Yorkshire and Willie Thompson Crossroads Kilmarnock. Both these judges have judged and shown at the highest level. Stephen is still actively involved in both showing and judging where Willie has since retired from breeding sheep but still travels around the country judging various shows. We also look forward to them both giving their judgment on our flocks. If entering this competition and are looking for a second opinion please feel free to ask both judges opinions, this is another reason we hold these Flock Competitions. The entry fee for the Flock Competition has increased slightly from £10 - £15, this price increase was agreed by council. The 2011 Flock Competition winners were Large Flock Connor & Dalrymple Reserve Robert Locker, Small Flock Winners W & E Crowe & Reserve M & M Harper. I did mention in the last journal our judge this year at the R.H.S. is Marion Leithead. We will be holding our usual after judging get together down the sheep lines. This is always a good time to meet up with friends old and new over a snack and refreshment. This year is also Scotsheep 2012 which will be held at The Morrison’s Farm, Dumfries House, Cumnock in Ayrshire. The Scottish Region will have their stand on display at this event. It has not yet been decided which Jacob sheep will also be on display. Lastly it has been two years since we held our first members weekend visit in the North of Scotland. Because this was a success to both visiting members and members who made the weekend possible to put their flocks on view it was decided that we would try another weekend visit to the West of Scotland. As far back as September 2011 I contacted members from around the West of Scotland. I have had a great response from the four members whom I have asked if they would be prepared to hold a similar weekend to our previous weekend visit. All four have replied back saying they would be willing to put their flocks on show for us. The members participating are Duncan Robb Tarbert Mr Wilson Glendaruel, Mr & Master D Keys Isle of Kerrera and Jill Bowis Kintaline Mill Farm all from Argyll area. Full details of this weekend will be on the Scottish Region Web Page of the JSS website or contact myself on email

gordon@gchltd.net / Tel.01506 834806. Our Regional AGM will have taken place at The Quality Hotel on Sunday 26th February. Information on this will be published in the next Journal Edition. Hopefully you are all having or had a successful lambing. Lambing isn’t the same without the disasters that can go along with it. Here’s hoping we have something to bring out in the months ahead and make up for those sleepless nights we usually have. Look forward to seeing old and new faces around the show rings this year and best of luck to those of you who take the plunge into the show ring Gordon Connor

Northern Region - Regional Council Member - Gavin Haworth Hopefully everyone has had a good lambing time and is now looking forward to the year ahead which promises to be action packed with plenty of activities for us all to enjoy both within the Region and across the Society as a whole. I have finally managed to find time to write my Journal report, it has been another wet and windy week since our final Jacob ewe lambed. We have enjoyed a successful lambing time in terms of lamb numbers and healthy lambs but we have had a high percentage of tup lambs to gimmer lambs, in fact I worked it out as a 80/20 percent split in favour of tup lambs. I think there must have been something in the air back in September, hopefully though there will be a decent tup lamb or two among them for the showing and selling season. We have just enjoyed our Spring AGM meeting at The Fox & Hounds, Langthorpe, and the meeting was full of discussion about the upcoming Regional events. We were joined by another guest speaker, Mrs Janet Sheard of CCM Auctions and Massey Feeds, who gave us a informative talk on ewe rations and their importance in and around lambing time. She also talked about her own farm where she keeps pedigree and commercial suckler cattle and giant rabbits, yes, giant rabbits. Our thanks go to Janet who travelled a good distance to be with us. If anybody from within the Region knows of anyone who would be willing to come and talk to us about a subject of interest, please let me know and I will be happy to make the necessary arrangements. Other news from the meeting was the confirmation that Mr Arwel Jones of the ‘Celtic’ flock, Wales, has accepted our invitation to judge the Northern Region Show and Sale at Skipton Auction Mart on Saturday the 1st September. Arwel

has inspected for us over the last two years and was delighted to accept the judging appointment. We are hoping to hold our Regional Open Day in May at the home of the Saxby Family who run the ‘Jolly’ flock at Little Newton, Long Preston, near Skipton. We are currently looking at possible dates and I will be in touch with members as soon as we know. It promises to be a good day with various activities being planned. Please contact me if you require any more details. Our breed promotion representatives, John and Freda Fozzard, have recently returned from another BP meeting and John reported back on a number of issues including some new items that the committee will be promoting at the upcoming AGM in the Southern Region. John is still looking for photos for the Regional display board which we hope to have on show around the Region this summer. If you have any nice photos you would like to have featured which showcase the attributes the Jacob is known for please send them to John or myself. Countryside Live which is held at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate in October is running for the first time a prime lamb class for a pair of Jacobs. This is an ideal opportunity for us to promote the carcase qualities of the breed and, hopefully, the fact that there are now going to be classes at this premier fat stock show will go somewhere to establishing this. If you are interested in showing there, details will be available later on in the year. We are continuing to keep the Northern Region page of the JSS website up to date, and all the information you need about Regional events will be on there for you to view so please keep having a look. Finally all the news recently on the radio and TV has been about the ‘droughts’ in the south and east of the country. I had to look this word up to find out what it meant. The picture below was taken about a fortnight ago and featured in the local paper. I don’t think we need to worry too much about ‘drought’ here in the North West. All the best for the showing season. Gavin

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