Pardon Ewe excels at showing sheep
Located on Belcher Road in Bloomfield, NY, Pardon Ewe Farm raised some excellent sheep this year. Owned by Courtney Owens, an EMT, and Alyssa Boyea, a special education teacher, the farm produced a Grand Champion Market Lamb and Grand Champion Market Ewe shown by their son Wyatt Boyea, 10, at the Wayne County Fair.
At the Ontario County Fair in Canandaigua earlier in the summer, Wyatt won Grand Champion 4-H Ewe Lamb, Reserve Master Showman 4-H, Reserve Champion Market Lamb 4-H and Reserve Champion Market Lamb in the open show. His ewe won her class as well.
His siblings also participated in showing with Mairin, 7, winning Showmanship and Simon, also 7, placing second behind her.
The family used to raise wool sheep; however, they learned from local sheep breeder Dave Pinkney about market lambs and the children began raising and showing them.
A newer addition has been breeding and showing Dutch rabbits. “Wyatt and Simon were in the top 10 for Dutch rabbits in the country,” Boyea said.
Her daughter had begged for rabbits for years, a wish that came true in 2024.
“We decided life’s too short; let’s do it,” Boyea recalled. “We got the kids each a rabbit, which exploded into a full-blown breeding operation.”
All three children will be competing for “Rabbit Royalty” at the Grand Finals in Syracuse the first weekend in October. Boyea said that multiple people have recommended that Wyatt compete at the state and national level for showmanship.
In addition to the fairs in Ontario and Wayne counties, the children also compete at Seneca County Fair and the Great New York State Fair.
“There are so many life lessons taught on the farm with patience, teamwork and trust,” Boyea said. “You have good days and bad days. No matter what is going on, those animals need you. It was a cool experience when Wyatt had a lamb so large he could not get it on the truck for transport and it trusted him to walk up a flight of stairs. When we get them, they’re afraid of people. By the time their project is done, they come when called and they want to sit with you and enjoy scratching. They know the sound of your voice.”
The children start the process by sitting in the pen with the lambs and talking to them while feeding them. Every day, they walk with the lambs. This year, they even tried scootering and riding bikes with the lambs.
“That didn’t go so well,” Boyea said.
This year, the farm raised six lambs and a yearling. They raise ewe lambs for breeding. Males are castrated and raised for market, including filling the freezer on the farm.
“We know where our food comes from and we know it was well cared for and loved,” Boyea said. “We tell them thank you for providing food for our family.”
Since the children raise market-style sheep, they’re shorn just before showing so that the judges can better assess the animals’ musculature.
“Breeding ewes are clipped with hand shears and wear a blanket to keep their wool correct and keep them clean,” Boyea said. “It also protects them. Wyatt is learning about preparing the sheep. It’s not one and done with one style for every kind of sheep.”
Boyea lauded the help of the Pinkney family for teaching her children about sheep.
“They’ve been the spark,” she said. “Now all my children want to do is show sheep.”
