New 'Lottery' Increases Numbers For 2015 Sheep Show

If it seemed like there were more sheep this year at the Antelope County Fair, that’s because there were, and it was due to a new lottery system implemented this year.

Superintendent Stuart Vaughn of Tilden said one of the biggest issues for 4-H kids in the sheep category is locating sheep to show. To combat that, the Chris Gayle family of Tilden brought in 15 sheep for a lottery. Each sheep was numbered, and youth drew the number for the sheep they would then purchase, train and eventually show.

“We knew some of our sheep families would have youth getting too old to show soon, so we wanted to help new families get started or our numbers would decline,” Vaughn said. “This was a way to make it simpler to find sheep, rather than driving a couple of hours to different farms.”

Vaughn said the lottery was about two months ago. The families purchased the sheep and took them home to prepare for this week’s fair. He said despite a few hiccups, early indication is that the new lottery system has been a success. 

“Having more interest in showing sheep was the goal, and it appears it helped to serve that purpose,” he said. “We do have new families this year.”

Several 4-Hers showing lottery sheep did well, including Alison Stineman who was junior showmanship champion and Carson Anderson, reserve champion. Anderson also had the champion market lamb. 

Although a lottery system is new to the Antelope County Fair, Vaughn said it’s not new to the 4-H world. He knows of several counties that do similar things to encourage new participants. Antelope County modeled its system off of Phelps County, where Vaughn is originally from.

“This has been a great learning experience for our kids,” Vaughn said. “We’ve had a lot of families ask if we’ll do a lottery again next year, and I’m hoping we will.”

Breeding Sheep 
Chp- Riley Snider, Clearwater
RCh- Codey Snider, Clearwater 

Market Sheep
Chp- MeriLee Vaughn, Tilden
RCh- Riley Snider, Clearwater

Carcass Sheep
Chp- Codey Snider, Clearwater
RCh- Ashton Higgins, Neligh

Rate of Gain
Chp- Collin Gale, Tilden
RCh- Carson Anderson, Meadow Grove

Senior Showmanship
Chp- Riley Snider, Clearwater
RCh- Codey Snider, Clearwater 

Junior Showmanship 
Chp- Alison Stineman, Tilden
RCh- Carson Anderson, Meadow Grove