Curbstone Valley DS Elektra 7*M 2*D AR 3654

This young doe had some very big hooves to fill, and we had every confidence she would do just that. Elektra is the last daughter from Algedi Farm RB Ocean Flower retained to the herd. Ocean is a very special doe here on the farm, and as she has been so generous with beautiful daughters, and sons over the years, we elected to allow Ocean to enjoy her retirement, and be spoiled while she enjoys the peace and tranquility on the farm.

Elektra is perhaps the most similar, of all of Ocean’s daughters, to how Ocean herself looked at this age. Over the years, Elektra’s dam has continued to impress us, as each year she seems to get better and better. So much so, that despite already having earned her permanent score on linear appraisal as a 6 year-old earning a EEEE 91, we elected to have Ocean reappraised as an 8 year-old because we felt she looked better than when she earned her permanent score. Indeed, her appraisal score went up to a EEEE 92. 

Meanwhile, Elektra’s sire, as a two year-old buck not only appraised for the first time at EVE 90, but in the span of ten days, two shows, over four rings, Starman earned three Senior GCH legs, and finished his permanent championship. His sister, When Stars Align, placed at the head of her class consistently in very large and competitive two year-old classes, as a first freshener. 

This young doeling has a pedigree, on both sides, that is difficult to beat when it comes to structure and longevity. Her sire’s dam, Alethia DJ Written N The Stars earned a string of Best of Breeds in the Champion Challenge Class as a six year-old. Her dam, Ocean Flower, did the same as an eight year-old, including earning a Best Senior Doe In Show at the most competitive show in Northern California, just two days after her Linear Appraisal session.

***Shortly after we returned home from being displaced by the CZU Fire, Elektra was in the doe yard just after lunch one afternoon, and an employee found her trapped underneath one of the free-standing hay feeders (Rugged Ranch-type sheep feeder). She was obviously seriously injured, and having difficulty standing. Radiographs showed the feeder fell with enough force to fracture her pelvis. She was only seven months old. With a lot of care and rehabilitation, she did finally freshen in 2022. However, she has a markedly asymmetric rump when viewed from the rear, her gait is altered, and her udder, as beautiful as it is, does not sit squarely under her pelvic arch,  all of which contributed to significantly lower LA scores than would have been given had she been normal, especially for general appearance. Obviously, her show career ended that day. While she was coded to explain the low score, there is no specific code for chronic injury/altered gait due to permanent injury. She is bred for 2023, and it will likely be her final freshening due to arthritis starting to develop secondary to her injury. To say we are devastated, as this was Ocean’s last daughter born on the farm, would be an understatement.