The showperson should choose a female lamb, a ewe, born within that year, at the beginning of the summer. Next, he/she should skin-shear the entire lamb with electric shears so their wool is about the length it needs to be for the show. The showperson should get its lamb familiar with him/her, during the summer, so when it comes time to wash and trim her, the showperson will have gained her trust, making it easier for him/her to work on it. The showperson should have his/her lamb in a seperate pen then the rest of the flocks, so he/she can give their ewe the proper amount of food everyday. Their hooves need to be trimmed and cleaned regularily. A couple weeks before the show, the showperson should begin to wash its lamb, and trim it. The lamb's wool needs to be about an inch long. Put a sheep blanket over your lamb to keep it clean, and pack down the wool. The day of the show, you should have your lamb all prepared to show, but keep your tools with you, just in case you need to make any last-minute adjustments. Good luck!
About a week or two before the show, you should begin to trim your lamb. You must have a card and hand shears to do this. A card is a comb for lambs with wire bristles to lift the wool. To use it, you simple place it on the wool, and pull it out. A common mistake made with the card is when it is used like a hair-brush, and pulled through the wool. This will not lift the wool, and may even hurt your lamb. Before trimming, you must make sure that all the wool you will be trimming on the lamb is carded. Once you have done that, you can start to shear it. To use the hand shears, you must hold them with your fingers on one side of the handle, and your thumb on the other. Place the shears on to the lamb and in a constant movement, using your fingers to move the blade, move them across the lamb, to make the lamb's wool even. When you trim your lamb, you want to make it look like a box. The back needs to be straight, and it's rump needs to look square, instead of round. Be careful trimming close to the skin or fragile areas, because often the lamb will move, and you might accidentally cut it with the blade. This is another reason your lamb needs to trust you. If your lamb doesn't trust you, it will not want you trimming it, especially near its ears, eyes and legs.
Begin by gripping your lamb underneath its chin, at the back of its jaw, but avoid holding on to it by its neck. Place the other hand on the top of its head, right behind its ears. To show, you need to be wearing nice clothes, not barn clothes, usually a white shirt and black pants. Next, lead your lamb into the ring, always keeping your lamb between you and the judge. Make eye contact with the judge, and look at him/her 80% of the time, and at your lamb 20% of the time. The judge will not speak much, but instead use hand motions to signal your next movements, which is another reason you need to look at your judge. If he/she makes a twirling motion, it means to circle him/her, and if he/she puts her hand out in a "stop," you must stop and adjust your lambs legs. Make sure your lamb's legs look straight, and are not sticking out in all directions. If the judge walks to the side of the lamb that you are, slowly walk around the front of your lamb, never over top of her, and don't let her go! The judge may come up behind the lamb, and will want to check the width of the lamb's loin and rump, and when he/she does, you want to stick your knee into her chest, so she tenses her muscles. If you stand in front of her while you do that, it also prevents the lamb from going anywhere if she is startled by the judge. When stopping, make sure you give yourself and the people beside you enough room to make his/her way around the lambs. Also, when you have stopped, squat, but avoid putting your knees on the ground. Always remember to smile and have fun!
