BROWNSTOWN

For the first time in his 4-H career, Jakeb Webber faced off against his brother, Colton Ritz, in a sheep competition at the Jackson County Fair.

Before it even began, there was smack talk.

“All the time, nonstop ever since we found out,” Webber, 18, of Brownstown said, adding he was hoping for bragging rights at the end of the showmanship competition.

“I’m going to beat him,” Colton, 15, said confidently. “It’ll be fun. I’d like to come away with a win, though. That would be a lot nicer.”

Showing sheep was a family affair this year, as their younger sister, Kalyn Ritz, 10, and cousin, Sawyer Ritz, 4, also competed.

The older brothers relied on their experience and knowledge from their father, Walkar Ritz, to help their sibling and cousin, who were newer to showing.

“I try to be a good role model for them, how I conduct myself around them and stuff. It puts you closer as a family just being around each other all the time,” Colton said.

“We haven’t gotten to work a whole lot with Sawyer, but whenever Kalyn has something, she can talk to any three of us, me, Colton or Walkar,” Webber said. “It has brought me and Walkar closer together, so it has been something we can talk about and relate to.”

Kalyn said she has learned a lot from her siblings and father.

“I’ve learned how to show sheep correctly and to not be afraid whenever you’re showing a sheep,” she said. “They’ve taught me different techniques, how to calm your sheep down.”

Sawyer competed in the peewee division, which was before the 4-H and open shows. She said she liked preparing her sheep, Ruby, for the show.

Decked out in a pink button-up shirt, jeans, boots, a belt and buckle, a necklace and a pink hair bow with a glitter image of a sheep, Sawyer claimed one of two trophies handed out for showmanship.

Both Webber and Colton said they used to also show pigs and goats, but they have shown sheep every year they have been in 4-H.

Webber, who graduated from Brownstown Central High School in the fall, said he has been in 4-H for at least six years.

“Walkar, he pretty much showed me, my brother and my sister everything,” he said. “He taught us how to walk them, how to set them up and how to get their feet set.”

Getting a sheep to do what you want it to do doesn’t always go as planned, Webber said.

“It wasn’t incredibly difficult to learn, but to put it into practice, it gets kind of tough,” he said. “Once you know what you’re doing, it’s a little bit easier. But it’s still always tough to make sure everything is working just the way it is supposed to. They can make it really easy for you or they can make it really tough.”

Kalyn has found that out, too.

“Last year, I had a sheep that would set his own feet for me, that’s how much he liked me,” she said. “This year, it’s a little different because I have one crazy ewe, and there’s a crazy ram who’s not too bad.”

Once the siblings enter the show arena, they do their best to show off the work they’ve put in with their sheep.

“It’s just kind of seeing it pay off,” Webber said. “It gets hot and you go down to the barn and you don’t really want to be there sometimes. But if it all pays off, it kind of makes everything feel worthwhile.”

Colton, who is a sophomore at Brownstown Central High School and has done 4-H since fourth grade, said that, as he has learned more over the years, he has improved.

“It helps you with patience and everything around that,” he said. “It’s teaching you new things about it and getting you ready for the future.”

Last year was Kalyn’s first year in 4-H, and she took what she learned from that experience and applied it this year.

“It was fun to hear that I was doing good and they actually thought I was good,” she said of last year in the show arena. “That kind of built up how confident I was. So this year, I’m hoping to do the same thing and get first place.”

Kalyn, who also did a scrapbook project for 4-H this year, said she liked working with her sheep to get them ready for Wednesday’s show.

She had nightly chores, including walking the sheep and also feeding and washing them. During that time, she said, she learned a lot about each sheep’s personality.

“It’s fun to kind of see how they grow into what they are,” she said. “It’s fun to feed them and wash them and just to see them meet new animals.”

Colton said he hopes to work with sheep beyond 4-H. When he has children someday, he said, he would like them to learn about sheep, too.

“It’s just a fun animal,” he said.

Webber said his 4-H experience has been a good one.

“It has helped develop a work ethic for me just overall,” he said. “You go out and do it every day, so you kind of develop this pattern of ‘I’ve got to do this if I want everything to work out the way it should. I’ve got to go now and work it out.’”