Wow! This show season has started out well for Doug and me and the youth that we help! In July we spent 4 very hot days at Tennessee Tech University for the 2013 TN Junior Livestock Expo Sheep Events in Cookeville, TN. The girls (C & M) washed sheep until they were ready to fall over and Doug, Travis, Chrystal and myself sheared/fitted until we couldn’t see straight and our hands wouldn’t stop vibrating! All sheep survived and all humans were relatively unharmed (except for the occasional cut from the clippers) by these events, but boy were we tired. The weeks and days leading up to this statewide 4-H & FFA sheep show are easy to sum up in a short phrase, hard work pays off. Raising and showing sheep takes a lot of time, effort, and dedication by many people. It takes moms to keep everything organized, health papers in order, and registration papers in check. It takes dads driving trucks and trailers early in the morning and late at night to make it to a show, baling hay for the sheep to eat, making the trips to CO-OP, and keeping all health supplies on hand. It also takes role models and mentors to help you along the way, make sure you get the right sheep in the right class, to tell you to work harder, walk your sheep more, you missed a spot shearing, keep that top down, raise that head up, did you remember to trim your sheep’s feet?
I’m not saying only moms can keep health papers in order and that dads are the only ones that can drive a truck and trailer, what I’m saying is that it takes a lot of hard work to be successful. Doug and I are very proud of the girls and of how they performed in and out of the show ring. They worked their tail ends off all year, and they finally got to see what hard work can do! Below are just a few pictures from our week at Sheep Expo and if you want to see more look at our Success! page. Stay tuned for fair pictures!
Shanks Genetics 