PEA RIDGE — Lambs bleating, children laughing, an air dryer blowing and the hum of electric clippers competes with rain pounding on the metal roof.
Along one wall, a huge mirror reflects the organized chaos - colored halters and ropes, ribbons, the shearing benches and Bethany Stettmeier drying her lamb. Nearby, Howie and Brittany Stettmeier clip their lambs to the head-hold on the stands and begin the time-consuming shearing process.
Outside, oblivious to the rain drops, Joshua and David Stettmeier alternately wash the lamb and splash one another.
Watching with obvious pride are Ken and Debbie Stettmeier, parents of Brittany, 15; Howie, 14; Bailey, 12; Bethany, 10; Joshua, 8; and David, 6.
It was a natural progression - from selling meat to raising sheep and homeschooling was the perfect venue.
The Stettmeiers and their six children work year round, both with school work and with the lambs.
“I’ve been in the meat business for 26 years,” Ken said.
For several years, Ken bought meat for Sam’s Wholesale Clubs and Wal-Mart. Then he struck out on his own and began a meat consulting business - Crossroads Consulting.
Meanwhile, his wife waseducating their six children at home. At a county fair event, someone gave the family a lamb and the interest blossomed.
Now, with three rams, 15 big sheep and 26 lambs, the children learn and practice many subjects while raising prize-winning sheep.
The children, themselves, also win awards as they are judged on their showmanship.
A lamb must be born after January 1 to show and they are shown sheared to best display their physical form.
The timing of breeding and birth is important as one month can make a big difference in the lamb’s size and maturity.
Together, the family travels across the United States - to shows in Denver, Kansas City, Little Rock and Fort Smith.
“We work as a team. We learn, we work, we have fun as a family,” Brittany said.
The competition for Arkansas Born and Bred lambs includes nose printing and checking the lambs’ DNA.
One of the ewes is from one of the most prominent flocks in the nation, Ken said, explaining that the former owners paid $2,100 for her and the family was able to purchase her for only $250.
Each child has a favorite lamb, but the flock belongs to the family.
“It’s everybody’s animal.
We’re all responsible,” Ken said. When the ewes are birthing, they’re checked every three hours. “Thereare life lessons learned.”
Brittany remembered finding one of her ewes dead just a few weeks before she was due to give birth. “I’d raised her as a baby. She was my showmanship lamb.”
“With commitments come expectations,” he explained, referring to the responsibilities for the flock.
The children each have various responsibilities, including feeding, bookkeeping, studying genotypes and phenotype - the genetics and character types of the animals.
They practice showmanship again and again in front of the mirror - “brace and set” - reminds Debbie, coaching the children.
Howie won showmanship at the Arkansas State Fair in 2009. Bethany won first place with a lamb bred on the farm. Brittany won second competing against seniors much older than her.
“With three of them in the competition, I couldn’t loose,” Debbie laughed, admitting she was “very nervous.”
Bethany remembered winning her first belt buckle. The entire familyapplauded, crying with joy.
“I’ve never been in a junior show,” she recalled.
It was the Carroll Classic in Greenwood. “I washed and dried the lamb. I wear a skirt. I’m fancy, I love jewelry, dresses and skirts,” Bethany said. “I beat my two eldest siblings.”
When the children were younger, Debbie remembers doing much of the work which is now handled by the older children. Together, they run the farm and manage the animals - sheep, chickens, horses and dogs.
Recently, three of the children won more awards. Bailey, 12, won Grand Champion Lamb, Grand Champion AR Born & Bred Lamb and the Grand Champion Junior Showman the Ag Appreciation Lamb Show in Green Forest; Brittany, 15, won Grand Champion Lamb and Grand Champion AR Born & Bred Lamb at the Hot Springs “Blow and Show” Jackpot in Hot Springs; and Howie, 14, won the Reserve Grand Champion ABL (AR Born/Bred Lamb) Lamb at the Hot Springs “Blow and Show” Jackpot in Hot Springs.
School, Pages 7 on 06/30/2010