We are absolutely blessed to have a wonderful herd of goats with some very nice genetics that we really enjoy showing. This year, I was disappointed when what should have been the height of our show season turned into a total lock down. I was still thankful that we had our animals and homestead to enjoy, rely on and entertain us! As member and officer of a local dairy goat club we were faced with the hard decision about what to do for our show. We had the judges, the grounds and the forms all set. As a group the majority of us wanted the show to go on, so we pressed forward until it became clear our original date for the early June show would not be possible due to local regulations. We decided to try for a date in early July that we had scheduled as a one day milk test for the club and after a lot of work from the show committee we made it happen!
Our show went off flawlessly this past weekend thanks to the help of many volunteers and club members. We received many compliments on the clubs friendliness and how well the show was run.I for one appreciated all of the additions that we made to allow for CDC guidelines to be followed. The judges and ring stewards wore masks, as well as many of the participants. Additionally, we provided hand sanitizer, ample hand washing stations and social distancing signs throughout the complex. We realize that this may be the future of ADGA shows, for some time to come. Overall, one of my favorite parts of showing goats is the overall friendliness and helpfulness of the exhibitors. We enjoyed each part of the two day show and made some wonderful memories, we are already looking forward to next years show after some much needed rest!
Our herd performed well in some competitive classes with Turbo winning the yearling buck class in ring 2, with 15 other yearling bucks, Stella getting 2nd in the dry yearling class in both rings, with over 20 other does in her class. Godiva and MJ also placed 3rd and 4th respectively out of about 25
kids! In the milking division Zoey got 2 and 3rd and Moots got 4th out of very large and competitive 2 and 3 year old milker categories!
I think that some version of a normal life can begin to resume, including my beloved goat shows with certain precautions in place. I hope everyone is staying well and Happy Goating!