Ledesma raises supreme grand champion lamb

For the second year in a row Oscar Ledesma of Fallbrook 4-H raised the lamb which earned supreme grand champion honors at the San Diego County Fair.

"This year I was in a great fair," said Ledesma. "I'm very fortunate winning the grand champion three years in a row."

The Ledesma family moved from Orange County to Fallbrook in 2016 and Ledesma was previously a member of the Trabuco Trailblazers 4-H chapter and had shown at the Orange County Fair. Ledesma raised the Orange County Fair's supreme grand champion lamb in 2016 and the superlative San Diego County Fair lamb last year.

This year Ledesma raised both the 4-H grand champion and the 4-H reserve champion lamb, and he also won the junior best of show and junior reserve best of show at the poultry show. He also took champion honors for intermediate lamb showmanship. His market hog was the reserve champion in the 4-H superheavyweight class and gave Ledesma reserve champion status in the intermediate swine showmanship competition. Several of Ledesma's chickens won awards in the poultry show, and he also raised a reserve champion ewe in the breed sheep show.

The livestock breed show for sheep commenced June 6 and ran through June 10. Ledesma entered two Hampshire cross ewes in the Commercial Grades and Unregistered - Open Sheep competition: one in the Ewe, Yearling class and one in the Ewe, Fall Lamb category. Both took second in their class, and the yearling received reserve champion ewe honors for the entire competition.

The yearling was born in April 2017, and Ledesma obtained her from Nebraska breeder Mark Hassebrook in July 2017. The Eastern San Diego County Junior Fair in Lakeside restricts market livestock entries to members of 4-H and Future Farmers of America chapters within the Grossmont Union High School District or the Mountain Empire Unified School District, but the breed competition does not have a geographical affiliation requirement.

Ledesma entered the yearling at this year's May 12-20 Eastern San Diego County Junior Fair, and after winning grand champion ewe honors for the breed class she then competed against the market ewes and received supreme grand champion distinction.

Ledesma obtained the fall born ewe, who was born in November 2017, from Johnson Family Show Stock in Wisconsin.

Ledesma entered 15 birds in the June 13-17 poultry show which has both an open division and a youth division. A female black Minorca received junior best of show honors and a male white Leghorn bantam was designated reserve best of show. Ledesma raised both of the one-year-old birds from hatchlings. The black Minorca weighed seven pounds and the white Leghorn bantam was two pounds.

Those two chickens also won breed classes. The black Minorca received best Mediterranean honors as well as the best large fowl award. The white Leghorn bantam took best rosecomb and best bantam honors.

A three-pound white rock hen gave Ledesma reserve bantam honors as well as the best single comb clean legged bantam award. Ledesma also received the reserve Mediterranean award for a nine-pound male black Minorca and the reserve rosecomb award for a two-pound male white Leghorn bantam.

The county fair's livestock market show June 26 through July 4 included two six-month-old Hampshire cross lambs and a Hampshire cross pig raised by Ledesma. Ledesma acquired a lamb from Hassebrook Show Lambs in March and called the lamb Road Rage. When he was placed on the fair scales June 26 Road Rage weighed 139 pounds. Ledesma's other lamb, Rule Breaker, was acquired in March from Rule Sheep Company in Iowa and was 143 pounds.

Ottenwalter Show Pigs in Colusa bred Ledesma's pig, who was also acquired in March and six months old at the fair; Ledesma called the pig Risk It For The Biscuit and he weighed 292 pounds.

Road Rage and Rule Breaker were both in the 4-H heavyweight class. Road Rage was the class champion and Rule Breaker was the heavyweight reserve champion.

Risk It For The Biscuit was the 4-H superheavyweight reserve champion for swine.

The champion and reserve champion in each 4-H weight class then competed for 4-H grand champion and 4-H reserve champion distinction. The eight lamb competitors included the lightweight, mediumweight, and superheavyweight grand and reserve champions as well as Road Rage and Rule Breaker. Road Rage was given 4-H grand champion designation and Rule Breaker was the 4-H reserve champion.

(A Grange youth member may also enter the livestock market show and would compete in the 4-H class, but the Rainbow Grange is currently San Diego County's only active Grange chapter and no Rainbow Grange members entered under the Grange affiliation.)

The FFA weight class champions and reserve champions competed for FFA grand champion and FFA reserve champion. El Capitan FFA member Haley Attig raised a 154-pound lamb which was the FFA grand champion and Connor Bast of El Capitan FFA was given the FFA reserve champion ribbon for his 153-pound lamb.

The 4-H or Grange grand champion, the 4-H or Grange reserve champion, the Future Farmers of America grand champion, and the FFA reserve champion animals then compete for supreme grand champion and reserve grand champion honors. Road Rage was designated as the supreme grand champion and Attig's lamb was declared the reserve grand champion.

Attig also had the reserve grand champion last year when Ledesma's 127-pound lamb Grand Theft took supreme grand champion honors as well as the 4-H grand champion and 4-H mediumweight champion awards. Bast was affiliated with Sagebrush 4-H and raised the 4-H reserve champion lamb.

Ledesma entered two lambs and a steer in the 2017 livestock market show; his 138-pound lamb Auto placed first in the heavyweight class. Ledesma and Grand Theft, who was acquired from Hassebrook, also won the 4-H intermediate lamb showmanship competition last year before placing fifth in the master showmanship competition for all large animals. The 2017 San Diego County Fair was Ledesma's first as a Fallbrook 4-H member, and he also showed seven chickens during the livestock poultry show including a white rock bantam hen named Baby who won best of show.

Normally a junior livestock exhibitor can only sell one large animal at the auction, but if the same FFA, 4-H, or Grange member earns FFA or 4-H/Grange grand or reserve champion with more than one animal, both animals are offered at the auction block. This year's auction included both Road Rage and Rule Breaker. Southern Contracting Company, which is based in San Marcos, purchased Road Rage at $44 per pound. Triple B Ranches, which is in Valley Center, obtained Rule Breaker for $5.50 a pound.

Fallbrook's Michalke family paid a barn sale price of $1,200 for Risk It For The Biscuit.

Last year Southern Contracting Company bought Grand Theft at the auction for $33 a pound.

This year Ledesma and Road Rage placed first in the intermediate lamb showmanship and in the master showmanship competition for large animals. Risk It For the Biscuit gave Ledesma second place in intermediate showmanship for pigs.

Ledesma has now been in Fallbrook 4-H for two years after being in Trabuco Trailblazers 4-H for two years. He noted that he has obtained significant knowledge from Fallbrook 4-H.

"It's great being in Fallbrook 4-H," said Ledesma. "I appreciate their support and their friendship."

Ledesma was a Potter Junior High School eighth-grader during the 2017-18 school year and will be a Fallbrook High School freshman in 2018-19. He plans use his Fallbrook FFA affiliation to show his lambs and swine in 2019 and he will also remain in Fallbrook 4-H and show breed sheep and chickens as a 4-H member.

"I'm excited to join FFA," Ledesma said.