National Romney Show 2013

Updated July 23, 2013 – Please read all the way down – new information posted at the bottom

Here is the latest information on the National Show to be held this year at the resurrected Michigan State Fair (officially the “Fifth Third Bank Michigan State Fair”). The show will be taking place over Labor Day weekend at the Suburban Collection Showplace (46100 Grand River Ave, Novi, MI). ARBA will be hosting our Annual Meeting and Dinner on Friday evening before the show. The show itself will begin at 10 am on Saturday morning, and will include both White and Natural Colored classes, as well as a Junior Show (Juniors will show in the Open shows and step out for their Junior placings). Our judge will be Sam Wiford from Wapakoneta, OH. ARBA will be adding money to the already generous premiums. In addition to the standard classes, the Romney Show will be featuring Young Flock, Best Fleece, Best Head and Breeder’s Flock classes in both the White and Natural Colored shows. Please note that the Breeder’s Flock class must consist entirely of animals bred and owned by the exhibitor.

We are seeking sponsors for all the Champion and Reserve Champion awards in both the Open and Junior shows, and at this writing about half of the sponsorships are spoken for. Please contact Anne McIntyre (, 203 358-3070) or Margaret Van Camp (see contact info below) if you are interested in contributing.

Below is the schedule of events in as much detail as is known at this time:

• Wednesday, August 28, 12 noon – Exhibitors can begin arriving and penning sheep in the barn
• Friday, August 30, 9 am – All sheep must be penned in barn
• Friday August 30, mid afternoon – National Romney Youth Showmanship (following three other youth shows)
• Friday, August 30, 6 pm – ARBA Annual Meeting and Dinner (time will be adjusted to allow for finish of Youth Showmanship as necessary)
• Saturday, August 31, 10 am- Romney National Show (NC followed by White)
• Monday, September 2, 10 am – Youth Lead class followed by Youth Decorator class (not part of Romney National show, but still fun)
• Monday, September 2, 5 pm – Sheep released (there WILL BE a significantly earlier release for those hauling sheep from destinations over 5 hours distant)

Entries close August 1. Here is a link to the Fair premium book and entry forms:
www.michiganstatefairllc.com/competitions

The online registration system is up and accepting entries. You can mail your entries as well. The entry fee is $7.50 per head, with no extra charge for group classes.

IMPORTANT NOTE: To enter the Natural Colored Romney Show, use the Section # CC (Natural Colored Coarse/Long) before the class number on your entries. Don’t worry – the NC Romneys will be broken out for their own show on site and will NOT show in the Open NC Coarse/Long show. For the White Romney show, use Section # RO before the class numbers.

ARBA Annual Dinner / Meeting information: The dinner will be held on the fairgrounds, catered by an extremely popular (believe me, we have tested it many times) local restaurant. Cost for the dinner will be $17 per person, all inclusive, with a cash bar. Send your check (made out to ARBA) to ARBA Dinner c/o Margaret Van Camp, 4190 Cook Rd. Swartz Creek MI 48473. We will need your reservations by August 24, 2013. After that date, email me at or or call 810-814-3408 to make sure we can still secure you a spot. We guarantee you will not go away hungry.

Hotel information: Our host hotel will be Courtyard Marriott Detroit Novi. I have 10 rooms blocked out at a price of $86 plus tax, However, if you go to booking.com for a reservation, you MAY be able to get it for less- between $71 and $75 per night. These rooms are very limited so call soon.

There are multiple hotels nearby, as well as a large variety of restaurants. The show facility is quite new, very close to the expressway, and easy to navigate to, from and around. Camping is available on site (but as of July 23 no information is available on the site above regarding camping permits and fees. I will get that information posted as soon as it becomes available).

Please keep checking the website for details. If you have any questions, please call or email Margaret Van Camp, National Show Chairperson, at 810-655-4091 / . Hope to see many of you (and your sheep) there!