“Obviously, I got better,” she said. “I was a ner- vous wreck the first couple times. I had to calm down before I could get better.”
But she took her lumps in the process.
“She had her fair share of stinkers, but I think that builds character,” Charlene said. “It took her a while to learn. Until she could show prop- erly, we didn’t take the best sheep we had, so I think she appreciates her wins a lot more now.”
“It really did teach me how to win and lose,” Elysha said.
To improve, Elysha attended several showman- ship camps. She also likes to watch the top showmen and make mental notes. But she at- tributes much of her success to Charlene.
“If I didn’t have Char, I probably wouldn’t even be doing this,” Elysha said. “I’d be clueless. Without her, I’d be nowhere near where I am right now.”
Besides Charlene and her dad, Charlene’s par- ents, Dru and Judie Gilliland, help Elysha with her sheep. The Gillilands are particularly help- ful during the county fair.
“The past two years, the county fair and Ohio State Fair have been at the same time, so they help move sheep around,” Elysha said. “They also help at Louisville.”
She mostly shows crossbred market lambs, and does ladies lead at the Warren County Fair. In terms of breeds, she’s taken a liking to Southdowns.
“I’m kind of obsessed with Southdowns,” she said. “They’re small and cute. As babies, they’re adorable little white fluffs of cute.”
Elysha typically works with 10 to 12 sheep in the barn at home, and usually takes six to each show. When a show hits, she picks the ones that look the best at the time. The lambs are usually an even split of ones raised from the family flock and ones purchased from others. A couple of her old show wethers are still on the farm.
“Everyone has their few they can’t give up. It took me a couple years to realize this is the in- dustry and that’s what they’re raised for, and not to cry with every one,” she said. “I’ve gotten used to it. I used to say I’d never eat lamb, but now I do and enjoy it.”
It was really hard on her the first couple years, not having a farm background, Charlene said.
“We donated some of her nice show lambs to Safe Haven Farms in Middletown,” Charlene said. “They are used for livestock therapy for people with autism, so that helped a little during the transition time.”
Now, she talks to her classmates, many of whom are city kids, about raising lamb, and even gave a speech to her whole class about the animal rights activism of the Humane Society of the United States.
Her dad attributes that growth and her ability to stand up and talk in front of a bunch of kids to her experiences showing sheep in front of large crowds. It’s part of the character gained from showing livestock, just like leaving for shows at 3 o’clock in the morning and spending hours working in the barn from March through No- vember, including over summer break.
It’s time well spent, Elysha said.
“Sometimes looking back, it’s like, ‘Why do I like this?’” she said. “But it’s the fun Dad, Char and I have when we’re out there. It’s hard to explain.”
Elysha is pictured here with her dad, James Thoms, and her step- mom, Charlene Gilliland, who is responsible for infecting Elysha with the sheep showing bug. The ewe is “Elle,” who Elysha showed in 2008.
A supplement to Ohio’s Country Journal
She’s made many friends and many memories. And, she’s even branched out into Pygmy goats, which she thinks are almost as adorable as young Southdowns.
“That’s the thing,” Charlene said. “You start with one thing, and then it becomes a force of its own.”
2011 Spring Livestock Directory 41
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