Eastern Region

Welcome to the News page for the Eastern Region, which includes the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Rutland and Suffolk.

 

Regional Contact Member

Tom Green

Tom Green

email -

 

My name is Tom Green and although many of you will already know me, I would like to take this opportunity to formally introduce myself as the new Council Member for the region.

I work fulltime as a Farm Animal Veterinary Surgeon in Skipton North Yorkshire, but my Chestnut Flock of 35 Jacob ewes has resided on the family farm near Grantham, Lincolnshire for the past 30 years.

If any one has any questions or I can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

Jacob Sheep Society Eastern Region

Invite you to attend the 2024 AGM

Sunday 15th December 2024

Dear Members

This is a short email to let you know the AGM meeting and Winter Social is coming up.

All Members and their family and friends are welcome to the Eastern Region winter social and prize presentation following the flock competition at

The Bell Inn, Stilton, Peterborough, PE7 3RA in the Marlborough Suite

on Sunday 15th of December.

A pre-order will be required, I will send the menu to all interested parties. £10 per person deposit to be paid by bank transfer to secure your seat.

NAMES TO BE SENT TO ME FIRST, THEN YOU WILL BE ADDED TO A GROUP CHAT OR I CAN EMAIL THE MENU AND BANK INFO FOR THE DEPOSIT.

I WILL NEED NAMES NO LATER THAN THE 6th December

Dinner 12.00 pm for 12.30pm

AGM Meeting following dinner

If you would like to bring something up for discussion in the meeting, then please get in touch with me by the 13th December 2024.

Hope to see many of you there. If you have any further queries, then send me a private message on 07800817850

E mail 

Eastern Nov 2024

EASTERN REGION

Regional Contact Member – Tom Green

First of all, an apology to Sally Bothwell, Buchanan flock, who took reserve champion at Ashby with her ewe lamb, which I got wrong in my previous report.

The Eastern show season continued at Heckington and we were hugely thankful to Matt Kehoe for travelling from Ireland to judge. It was a great day for David and Charlie Coe’s Wneham flock who took the red rosette in every class, taking the champion and reserve interbreed with a Celtic Picasso sired shearling ewe, Matt found his reserve in their ewe lamb. Thank you to Tracey and Martin Coates and Joe Trofer for supporting the classes.

C:\Users\Clive\Downloads\Heckington Show - Charlie Coe's shearling champion and ewe lamb reserve.jpg

David and Charlie Coe’s champion shearling ewe and reserve champion ewe lamb at Heckington Show with the judge, Matthew Kehoe.

Jacob classes returned to Leicestershire County Show on August Bank Holiday weekend, judged by local vet Chris Watton. Congratulations to the Cartwright family, Goldstone flock, who travelled from Shropshire to take champion and reserve with their shearling ewe and ewe lamb respectively. Thank you again to Tracey and Martin Coates and Joe Trofer for supporting the classes and it would be great to get more exhibitors here next year.

I would like to wish members who have purchased from the shows and sales good luck with their purchases. In particular I’d like to congratulate Martin Woodbridge and Jane Wallis who bought the top priced ram lamb, Salopearl Charlie, at Worcester for their Wadenhoe flock, Lisa Adams and Ben Coe who purchased the reserve champion Wharf Goldeneye to share between their Oakfields and Typhoon flocks, and Gilly Winchester who purchased the champion ewe from the Welsh Sale.

On to our own sale at Melton Mowbray, I will refer you all the full sale report written elsewhere but I would like to congratulate all exhibitors and purchasers. In particular Wyn, Siwan, Sara and Lois Harries on gaining champion and two of the top prices, Jane and Alan Nightingale who had the reserve champion. and finally Tracey and Martin Coates who had the reserve male champion and top priced male, and congratulations to them on purchasing the champion, and to Katherine Morley who purchased their ram lamb.

I would like to thank Wyn Harries and Clive Richardson for inspecting and Jean Simmons for her stewarding, writing for the inspectors and adjudicating and for them all giving up their long weekend as without their support the show and sale wouldn’t be possible. Thanks as well go John Dixon for judging. C:\Users\Clive\Downloads\Leicestershire County Show.jpg

James Cartwright with his champion shearling ewe and reserve champion ewe lamb at Leicestershire County Show

I would like to welcome our new member Gemma Knott on behalf of the Salvation Army’s Hadleigh Farm Estate in Essex. Their Rare Breeds Centre is open to the public if anyone is in the area.

By the time this is published I hope that a flock competition will have been arranged and held in the late autumn and either way we will be holding a winter get together soon.

In my own flock all ewes have now been tupped with only a handful of returns from the sponges and I look forward to the progeny from the seven tups (yes seven, my father despairs) I used this autumn at the end of January. It’s a quiet time for the flock with retained lambs being given a clear out drench for worms and just a couple of ram lambs of both breeds we keep pedigree to halter train. Ewes are away at grass now the rams are out and will be given energy and protein buckets for the last eight weeks of pregnancy with concentrate feed introduced around Christmas time.

I wish everyone a Happy Christmas and New Year and good luck at lambing time. I can be contacted in the meantime on or on 07800 817850.

 

Eastern Aug 2024

EASTERN REGION

Regional Contact Member – Tom Green

With Summer here and the shows in full swing the Eastern region’s calendar of events kicked off with a well-attended Show Preparation Day at the Sandal family’s Glenbank flock, kindly sponsored by Showtime Supplies. George Sandall has kindly provided a few words on the day below so all I would like to add is a huge vote of thanks to George and Harry and of course Mum and Dad (Vicky and Richard) for having us and providing us with a superb barbecue lunch and to everyone who took the time to attend.

C:\Users\Clive\Downloads\Eastern Region Show Prep.jpg“After another wet week, the sun shone for our Eastern region show prep day (it truly was the most perfect weather. How we could have done with some more days like that this summer). We initially looked through the flock and discussed the characteristics to look for in choosing a show sheep. Kay Carpenter, Jean Simmons, Paula Bramley and David Tuffney kindly shared their knowledge and expertise in what to look for, followed by a trimming demonstration. Tom Green then demonstrated washing and carding. A BBQ lunch was enjoyed and the advice and conversations continued to flow through lunch. The afternoon involved ring craft with some useful tips and practical demonstrations. The day was very well attended by both well-known faces and also many new faces introduced to JSS showing and encouraged to enter the ring. Many thanks to all involved in a wonderful day! (Hear, hear George)”

Society president, Pat Black, presenting Vicky Sandall with a thank you gift at the Easter Region show preparation workshop

May saw some members compete in Any Other Breed classes at local shows. Gillian Christian took the reserve championship at Hadleigh Show beating Border Leicesters, Blue Faced Leicesters, Kerry Hills., and Lleyns in the process.

C:\Users\Clive\Downloads\Gillian Christian's ewe lamb, reserve any other shortwool champion, Hadleigh Show.jpg

Gillian Christian’s ewe lamb, reserve champion Any Other Short Wool Breed at Hadleigh Show

C:\Users\Clive\Downloads\Reserve Royal Norfolk Champion.jpg

Gillian Christian with her ewe, reserve champion at the Royal Norfolk Show

C:\Users\Clive\Downloads\Tuffney aged ewe champion and Vicki Sandall's ewe lamb reserve. at Rutland Show.  Peter Gorringe judged..jpg

David Tuffney’s champion aged ewe and Vicky Sandall’s reserve champion ewe lamb at Rutland show with the judge, Peter Gorringe

After losing our breed classes at the Suffolk Show I would like to thank the three exhibitors who turned out in the Other Native Breed classes to fly the Jacob flag, all of whom were rewarded with rosettes. Becky Fisher of the Church flock took 3rd place with her ram. Gillian Christian of the Briden flock took a 3rd place with her ram lamb and 4th with her ram and shearling ewe. Gilly Winchester of the Bacewell flock took a 4th with her ram lamb. Congratulations to the three of you and hopefully your support will lead to the reinstatement of breed classes next year.

It was ladies’ day at the first official show of the season at Rutland where Peter Gorringe of the Shutecombe flock found his champion in David and Jean Tuffney’s aged Kingsmore ewe with the Sandall family’s Glenbank ewe lamb in reserve. Congratulations to Sally Bothwell’s Buchanan ram lamb and Farmer Joe’s Fenland Shearling ewe who took first place in their respective classes. Farmer Joe was also well placed with his Fenland ram lamb in the Any Other Native breed class at the Lincolnshire Show.

Next up was The Royal Norfolk Show judged by Angela Gilbert. It was a fantastic show for the breed with Charlie and David Coe’s aged ram being tapped out in the breed classes before going on to stand reserve interbreed under the Society’s former official auctioneer Clive Roads of McCartneys, Worcester. This ram is Wneham Pict out of a homebred ewe and by Hyndshaw Borris and he was also breed champion at Heckington Show last year. In the breed classes Gillian Christian’s aged ewe was reserve overall while the Coe family took the reserve male and reserve female champions with a ram lambs and shearling ewe, while Becky Fisher took the red ribbon in the shearling ram class and Lisa Adams took the red rosette in the ewe lamb class. Many thanks also to the other exhibitors; Ben Coe, Debbie Gilks, Alan Smith and Gilly Winchester which culminated in an entry of over 30 Jacobs and a superb show of the breed.

Blaston Show held Jacob classes again this year and Jane Nightingale came over the Leicestershire border to win the championship with her shearling ewe, the Sandall family’s ewe lamb stood reserve. Finally Ashby Show was judged by John Dixon the weekend before the deadline for this article, and Jane Nightingale again took the championship with her shearling ram while Farmer Joe took reserve with his 4 horn ram lamb. Many Thanks to all the exhibitors from both the Eastern and Central Region for supporting the show.

Welcome to the new members in the region since the last Journal, Gilly Winchester – Bracewell Flock; Charlie and Emma Harrington – Buttercup Flock; Dawn and Norman Moore- Long Last flock; and Katherine Morley, I hope you all enjoy your time keeping Jacob sheep.

In my own flock the lambs have been gone through and the first fat lambs have been sold deadweight, weighing and grading well, however the £40 odd pound a lamb drop in price over the last month was less appreciated. Lambs for showing at Heckington have been selected and I will report on the regions final show of the season in the next issue.

Melton Mowbray Show and Sale is on the horizon over the 13th and 14th September. I have some lambs selected to go, I look forward to seeing as many of you there as possible. A social meal will be organised for the Friday evening with all welcome to attend. Before then my ewes will have been synchronised and tups will be in ready to start the cycle all over again for next year. Hopefully a flock assessment will take place within the region later in the autumn with a winter get together to announce the results.

In the meantime, if I can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to contact me – the regional email address is or my number is 07800 817850.