Dominican Republic

My first visit to the Caribbean was in 1998, to the Dominican Republic: the "DR." I went three more times for judging. The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. It occupies 5/8s of the island. Economically, it has made great strides since my visits. The Dominican Republic is now the most visited island in the Caribbean. The capital is Santa Domingo. Of course, the Dominican Republic has become a bastion for Major League baseball talent. Juan Soto is my favorite, since he played for both the Hagerstown Suns and Washington Nationals. 

Future Major Leaguers?

On one of my visits, I went to the zoo.

Currency in the Dominican Republic is the Dominican Peso.

Sheep and goat judging in the DR
I judged the national sheep and goat show in Santo Domingo for three years. I hated to stop, but I told them they needed to get different opinions. At the time, the DR was the second largest importer of sheep and goats from the United States. The show was similar, yet different from the US. It wasn't as competitive. I doubt that was true of the cattle shows. Cattle are always #1 (they shouldn't be!).

There were separate divisions for native and imported animals. The sheep were all hair sheep: Dorper, Katahdin, Barbados Blackbelly, and Pelibüey (and crosses). The goats were meat and dairy: Boer, Nubian, and Alpine (and crosses). There were classes for males and females of different ages. No group or market classes. Nothing for youth. While some people showed their own animals, some owners (the wealthier ones) had handlers do the showing. 

I met the President of the Dominican Republic when he walked through the barn housing the animals. I also visited the Embassy during one of the trips. I forget which trip it was, but I went to the zoo and saw these baby lions.