Becky had a lamb for the local Livestock Show so she's been getting up at 6am to feed and water it, plus go to the Land Lab (where he was kept) after her homework was done to walk him and work with him so he would show off for her and make her shine. I'd been running her back and forth twice a day since March 22nd (it's about 1 1/2 miles away) until the weather turned nice, then I let her walk with her sister and a couple of friends. She named him Watson because she did a whole podcast on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who wrote the Sherlock Holmes series of books and his sidekick was Watson, so it's elementary, plus this was her first livestock show and trying her hand at 4-H.Becky slipped and fell forward on her knee at the Land Lab after taking care of Watson at the end of April. She was out of commission for a week while her knee healed, which meant I was at her "beck and call" while she sat on the couch getting her assignments done for school and I had to go out to feed and walk Watson. We didn't know if she would even be able to show Watson due to the injury, but had a back-up plan if she couldn't. I took her to the doctor 2 days before the Livestock Show and the doctor said she was okay. If there was swelling, call him and he'll get her in for an MRI - thankfully there was no swelling.
Finally, Thursday (May 8th) Becky's FIRST Livestock Show ( 15 minutes away) arrives and we haul Watson to get weighed, wash and dry him, put him in his pen, feed him and leave him there. Friday, she and DH go to the Livestock Show to feed, water, and wash Watson and it's where she will be showing her lamb for the first time for confirmation (where she shows the lamb to see how well he looks to the judge compared to the other lambs - he was the smallest in his class
). She walks around with Watson and he does awesome, but he wasn't what the judge was looking for. That's okay, this was her first show we didn't expect much because we didn't know what to expect. We go home about 1pm and come back at 7pm to feed and water him. No problem, he's fine so we come back home.Saturday, we go to the Livestock Show at 6am to feed, water, wash, and primp Watson before she has Showmanship (where she shows how well she can handle him). Showmanship was at 9am and her class wasn't showing at 10am. Excitement was all around because my mom and sister (with my 17 month nephew) were there. Becky just shined and Watson helped her. You could tell she worked with him alot. He was so relaxed, she could walk him around anywhere and he would walk with her without a halter, just her hand under his chin and on the top of his head. She did exactly what the judge asked of her and she received 1st place/1st spot and got called back for the run-off in the Intermediate class. During the run-off, the judge had each person walk around with their lamb in the ring, and I guess did something not many judges do. He had each person go to another lamb and see how well the lamb did with a different person. There were only 5 kids, so they switched. The judge made Becky be last and had her take the wildest lamb. She did and calmed this person's lamb down with one stroke down the back and a little whisper (which she really shouldn't have done but it calmed it down). I think the judge specifically wanted to see how Becky would do with this wild lamb and was surprised. She shined and received Reserve Champion for her Intermediate Class. It was such a surprise to all of us and it was the best Mother's Day present I could ever ask for. I was drawn to tears, as was my mom and sister. We were all so proud of her.
Sunday, we got there at 11am, and she spent about 2 hours in her lamb's pen with Watson before she had to sell him and say goodbye. She seemed ready for the sale and did well. What a whirlwind of emotions! That lamb was so good for her, but we all knew we couldn't keep him.
We plan to get 1 or 2 more for the Umatilla County Fair in August, what am I getting myself into? lol
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