We are delighted to have enjoyed a very successful show season in 2017. We attended five shows and came home with three Zwartbles Breed Championships, one Any Other Continental Championship, three Reserve Breed Championships and one AOC Reserve Championship. We were also very pleased to be recognised in Wool on the Hoof and at just the two shows we secured two Reserve Overall Interbreed Championships and two Coloured Wool Championships. 

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Our season started at the Shropshire County at the end of May where ram lamb Roscallie Elite was Male Champion and went on to take Overall Champion in the very competitive Any Other Continental (AOC) section. In Wool on the Hoof (WoH) our ewe lamb Eloquent was Coloured Champion and then stood Reserve Overall Interbreed Champion. We were also delighted for Oscar wining his young handler age group with Roscallie Ethelburga before going on to be awarded Overall Reserve Champion Young Handler. After exhibiting at our county show for the past three years we are very happy to have secured breed classes and hope to see lots of Zwartbles breeders supporting these new classes in 2018. 

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Our slightly hectic, but hugely enjoyable half-term tour commenced with Surrey County on May Bank Holiday Monday, where we were awarded Breed Champion with shearling ewe Cynefin Diamond and Reserve Champion with ewe lamb Roscallie Ethelburga. It was very encouraging to have the largest number of entries across all sheep breeds (according to the commentator) and lovely to meet lots of breeders from the southern region.

 

We then travelled onto the Royal Bath & West where we again secured Breed Champion with Diamond and Reserve Champion with Ethelburga. In the WoH we won Coloured Champion with Elite who then went on to take Overall Reserve Interbreed Champion. We all had great fun at the four day show and thoroughly enjoyed the company of breeders from Wales, midlands and the south west. We returned home buzzing after our successes, but ready to swap our tent and camp beds for proper beds and catch up on sleep!

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Later in June we headed to Cheshire County where Ethelburga secured Reserve AOC Champion in a hotly contested category, but encouraging to see other Zwartbles breeders exhibiting and we're hopeful of securing breed classes next year. 

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Our final show of the season was at Newport (Shropshire), a lovely one day show and one of our favourites in the calendar. We were very pleased to be awarded Breed Champion with Diamond and Reserve Champion with ram lamb Roscallie Endeavour, a wonderful end to a superb season. 

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We are very grateful to all the judges for their time and always helpful feedback. A warm thank you to all the show organisers and stewards whose time and hard work is enormously appreciated. We extend a special thank you to all our fellow breeders and exhibitors for their strong competition throughout the season as well as their excellent company, we feel very fortunate to be part of such a friendly and supportive society. Fingers crossed for a good lambing and hopefully seeing many familiar faces in the ring again next year.

(Published July, 2017)

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