Iowa Sheep and Wool Festival

With the Festival firmly behind me, I can safely say it far exceeded my expectations. There were more vendors than I could count and lots of different things to see and do. If you live in the area I definitely recommend coming out next year.

Saturday was the Sheepdog trials, and while a rain from the night before delayed the start of the event, it still ended up being a great time.

The Pro-Novice group went first. This group was composed of either a novice dog with an experienced handler, or an experienced dog with a novice handler. The group did well and it was just amazing to see how skilled the handlers and dogs are. My husband ended up looking up a cheat sheet to understand the commands and it is crazy to realize how much the dogs are able to understand and process.

The festival also had what was called the Hall of Breeds, essentially pens where festival goers could see the different varieties of sheep and goats.  The biggest shock were how large some of the breeds can get. It was a great opportunity to see the animals that produce the fiber up close and personal.

Of course Horace couldn’t resist photo bombing the sheep dog trials. I think he was just happy to not have to be in the arena.

We were fortunate in terms of the weather, it was a bit warm and humid but we avoided the rain that threatened the entire day. Fun story it actually started raining as we started to drive back to my in-laws place.

Over all I had a great time and will definitely be back next year.

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