Mich:
G11 or, the S90, imo...as you need it sooner than the one SG is pitching;
(the specs on the cam SG is suggesting look amazing, but no available, yet.)

Here's another idea: while "working", GOOG local cam joints that might have
rentals. Go rent a decent DSLR, and wide to med tele lens, and give that
a whorl.

No xpert, and I haven't been to your "shoots", but from eyeballing your pics,
you are faced with a few issues, some which are going to be just "fixed" with
any cam, imo:

-those long shots, even with good telephoto, will often not provide for a cam to
throw the flash photons that far. I've gotten very lucky at ~20 feet, but with
a Canon 40D and add on strobe head.
-ISO is your friend: it only takes 20 seconds to crank up the ISO for those in the barn/shade shots...
get any cam off "auto", go to Aperture priority, and crank the ISO to 400 or 640 or...that increased
"speed" offers you the opportunity to cancel flash and use the speed for hand held, eg 1/30 sec. f/ 8,
no flash, at ISO 400+.

No P&S on the planet, or even DSLR, set to auto, is going to cover the dramatic
dark/light at distance shots, imo. It takes some fiddling...
Not trying to bore you, ;>)

Try a rental; places rent lenses all the time so I think some joint would rent
you a used cam or, one of their demo cams for the day, with decent variable
focal length lens.
GL, mD

PS: all this photo stuff sounds more difficult than it is, when written: like describing
how to drive a manual trans, lol!

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