New Trophies at Great Yorkshire Show

We all know that Ryelands are blessed with an extremely high quality fleece. Consequently at the Great Yorkshire Show, the fleece competition has been won twice by a Ryeland and the ‘Supreme Wool on the Hoof’ championship has been awarded four times. This is a compliment to the Ryeland, who I believe has won more times than any other breed. The history of the breed goes back to the 13th centu

ry, when wool made an enormous economical contribution to the wealth of England.

The way I prepare a fleece is not necessarily the way everyone else does it, but I hope this information is helpful. More importantly, I hope it encourages you to show your fleeces this coming Yorkshire Show.

The first thing I look at is the quality of the fleece itself and specifically the staple. The staple is better on the brisket than on the flank of the sheep. If it is good at the front and good at the back then that is a pretty good start. As far as other characteristics are concerned; it is important that it is springy, there are no fibre faults, and that if it is a white fleece, should be free of kemp and dark fibres. Ideally there should not be any stress marks in the length of the staple as this identifies a change in weather conditions or stress that the animal might have suffered. A wool staple is a naturally formed cluster of wool fibres and not a single fibre. Very many staples together form a fleece.

Once you have decided that your fleece is worth showing, the next important thing is to try and keep it as clean as possible whilst still on the sheep. Some people put protective coats on them. That should not affect the fleece itself, but what it will do is make it a lot easier for you when you tidy up the fleece prior to showing.

It is important to have a good relationship with your shearer, since many are not keen on clipping Ryelands. It is essential, as far as presentation is concerned, that the shearer removes the fleece in one without double cuts as judges do not like pieces of fleece mixed in with the main fleece itself. Explain that he must be careful not to step on the fleece as he turns the sheep since the fleece will pull and become open. It needs to be carried out in a similar way to peeling an orange in one go!

In order to make sure you can identify the head from the tail end, you can tie a little bit of coloured cotton to the front of the fleece, near the head. This helps when you roll it up since it should be rolled from the tail to the head. (Don’t forget to remove the bit of coloured cotton when you show the fleece!) Once rolled, it is not necessary to twist the neck wool to keep the fleece together. The fleece should be put skin down i.e. the clip that was closest to the animal’s skin, so the uppermost fleece is showing. Spread it on a cotton sheet and not directly on the floor as it will pick up dirt.

Next, skirt the fleece in order to remove all the daggings round the edge, and remove any dirt and bits such as straw, vegetation, hay etc. from the body of the fleece so it is as clean as possible.

Once it is as clean as you can get it, since this is also judged, fold the sides to middle, so that what shows is the fleece that has been next to the body of the sheep. Then roll it up from the tail to the head and wrap it in a cotton sheet to store it. If you want to tidy the fleece up at a later stage you can, preferably on a carpeted surface indoors rather than a hard concrete floor!

I really would like more people to enter the competition and because of the growing importance of coloured Ryelands there is a specific class this year. When the entry forms come round do check the correct class for coloured fleece entries. All this is not as difficult as it sounds and I am sure that it will give you enormous satisfaction.

The Ryeland diameter of the fibre is considered to be of high quality within British breeds and most Ryelands have a measurement of approximately 25 – 28 microns.

We all know how important wool is in other parts of the world. Last year I was fortunate to visit a Merino station in South Island of New Zealand, where the last of 20,000 Merinos were being clipped. The quality of their wool was outstanding and when parted, the fleece was pure white, with a really tight crimp.

Here, wool is the main crop and in some years the wool from this sheep station has reached record prices for Merino wool. In 2014, in a 100kg bale the average micron diameter was 11.7 microns! All the wool clipped is exported to China.

Last year the average asking price of a pound of wool from this station was in the region of £11 per pound.

My apologies to all spinners who are far more knowledgeable about fleeces than I am.

Please do enter your fleece; I am sure you will find the experience rewarding.

Stephen Hipps