Trimming and Show Preparation Workshop 2017

Show Preparation Workshop with David Rossiter

In mid May - prior to the local show circuit kicking off, the N. I. Dorset club held its very successful trimming workshop in Ballymena livestock market.
This year the Club officers were thrilled to have secured the talents of master breeder and Dorset sheep enthusiast,
David Rossiter, Burton Farm, Kingsbridge, Devon, owner of the highly acclaimed Huish flock.
David is a highly experienced pedigree Dorset man and all rounded sheep breeder having been runner up in the Sheep farmer of the year, owning and managing flocks of Poll Dorsets, Suffolks, Exlanas and white Dorpers totalling nearly 2000 head.
The trimming day saw a turnout of 30 young breeders and new members showing an interest in the tasks of show preparation which covered washing, colouring, carding, shaping , and trimming.
David also stressed how important it is for breeders to select quality sheep early and explained how to look for faults and how to pre-empt faults that would cause problems later in the year as they grew and matured and also in later life.
Then he took out a lamb and held it on a trimming stand and in tremendous detail explained the process of preparing it for a show or sale ring.
This entailed raking, carding out, shaping, trimming, and carding in.
By the end of the demonstration the participants then were encouraged to get a lamb each and secure it on the trimming stand provided and to make a start on their own and David went around each one in turn to offer guidance and advice.
As the trimming experience drew to an end, David then produced his Signet sheep breeder performance records and had a great in depth discussion with the group about records and interpretation of records and how non recorded flocks can benefit from the work and costs put in by breeders who record their sheep and how to put emphasis on different traits within the breed to get the end result that is required to sell pedigree sheep to both pedigree and commercial flock owners.
The day was brought to a close with coffee, tea and sweet delights provided by the Dorset committee ladies and allowed for some indulgence of sugar fix and tray bake paradise!
A big thank you goes out to David Rossiter from the N. I. Dorset club for taking the time to come over and to show his skills to everyone involved in the day.