Delta County Fair 2022—A Special Goat Story

Before we get into the actual results of the Delta County Fair, we need to go back a little.

I have been raising goats since 1980 and have been fortunate with the animals we raise and the ones we have selected to purchase. I have never lost a mother goat who was nursing babies…until 2021!

I had purchased this doe from another breeder and was hoping for something fabulous out of her. She had two bucks we named Howie & Harold. At first blush, they looked pretty good.

About two weeks after the babies were born, however, we found the mother dead in the corral. No marks. No signs of struggle. She was just gone. That was a shock.

Losing her was sad enough. But then here were these two little boys with no food supply.

We rushed to the farm and ranch store and purchased bottles and milk replacer for goats. Then we hurried back home to try to rescue these two babies.

Unfortunately, Howie would have nothing to do with the bottle. He just refused. We kept trying anyway, squirting the milk into his mouth and moving his jaw to try to get him to suck, but he had lost his will to live.

After a few weeks of struggle, Howie went the same direction as his mother—leaving poor brother Harold all by himself.

There was one big difference, though. Harold really wanted to live! Within just a few days of bottle feeding him, he caught on. Soon he was running to see us as he knew we had the goods!

Gerald and Mary feeding Harold.

Gerald and Mary feeding Harold.

Making trips to the barn every couple of hours in the cold months of December and January wasn’t something that Gerald and I really relished doing, but we did it just the same. How could we not? Harold loved to eat and was always hungry.

Harold was always hungry.

Harold was always hungry.

Due to all the trauma, he was smaller than most of the rest of our babies born around the same time, but he kept going no matter what. It was clear he had a lot of heart.

A few months later, in February, we had a family come from Delta to pick out some babies to show at the fair in Hotchkiss. One of the boys—Stihl—just fell in love with Harold and wanted to take him.

Harold with his new owner, Stihl.

Harold with his new owner, Stihl.

Stihl’s brother Cole, who has shown goats before, selected one of our little doelings, Andi.

Cole with Andi

Cole with Andi.

Before we could let the babies go, we wanted to bottle-feed Harold for a little longer. He was small and we wanted to give him every advantage.

In April, the family returned to gather their animals. Here are their goats waiting to go to their new home.

Andi

Andi

Harold

Harold

Stihl continued spending a lot of time with Harold. His family sent us some pictures of the two playing in the back yard at their home. How fun is this?

Harold and Stihl in their back yard.

Harold and Stihl in their back yard.

Stihl playing with Harold.

Stihl playing with Harold.

Worn out, the two stop to rest.

Worn out, the two stop to rest.

We arrived at the Delta County Fair in Hotchkiss and found Stihl leading Harold around. Honestly, seeing Stihl with Harold made Gerald and I very proud, emotional, and thankful that we had spent all that time and effort keeping this little goat alive!

Stihl leading Harold at the fair.

Stihl leading Harold at the fair.

The classes in Delta County are so large that they have to break them into divisions so the judge can examine them. Each division comes in and the Judge selects three or four of the top goats and showmen, sending them into another pen to wait until all the top ones are selected.

Then the Judge brings these top finalists back out to compete against each other to pick the final winners.

Here is Stihl showing Harold.  Stihl was the first picked in his division to wait to compete against all the top ones in his class.

Stihl showing Harold. Look at that focus!

Stihl showing Harold. Look at that focus!

Cole was in the same class but a different division. Here he is showing Andi. Cole was also picked to compete against the finalists.

Cole showing Andi.

Cole showing Andi.

So both boys ended up in the top group! Great job.

Here is Cole and Andi with their ribbon.

Cole and Andi w their ribbon.

Cole and Andi w their ribbon.

Here is Stihl and Harold with their Reserve Grand Champion Ribbon!

Stihl and Harold with their Reserve Grand Champion ribbon.

Stihl and Harold with their Reserve Grand Champion ribbon.

These two boys along with their wonderful family did a great job finishing these goats, feeding them, clipping them, grooming them, and getting them ready for show. It is definitely a family effort and this family clearly works well together.

Congratulations to these boys and we look forward to seeing you again next year.

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Eagle County Fair 2022

We were delighted to have our daughter Colleen come from Idaho to join us for the Eagle County Fair this year.

We have all grown very fond of this family from Eagle who have purchased their goats from us for going on five years now.  We have watched their children grow up and have so enjoyed being a small part of their lives.

Here they are picking up their three wethers: Shelton; Ward (re-named Finn); and Hudson.

Picking up the three wethers.

Picking up the three wethers.

On the day of the fair, it was a cool morning with just a slight bit of rain—enough that it made us nervous that the Colorado Department of Transportation may close I-70 through Glenwood Canyon, blocking our way.

Last year, they closed I-70 through the canyon because of the road damage caused by the rain-induced mudslides. We got through on the way up, but had to take the long route back.

We didn’t want the same thing to happen this year before we even got up there!

So we left extra early just in case. Fortunately, though the clouds were threatening, the rain was light and we were able to avoid any problems.

It’s always exciting when the kids bring the goats in for the first show. It’s a chance to preview the competition and observe how the judge is going to make her decisions.

This year something interesting happened, though. Shortly after the first class got underway, the judge stated that she really didn’t care for goats at all.

We could almost hear all the kids gulp!

We thought that was a strange thing to say since she was there to judge goats, after all. It was particularly odd in front of all the kids who had worked so hard with their goats—and many who loved them.

Oh well. We were glad that the kids didn’t feel the same way she did!

Here comes Lizzy with Finn and Isaac with Hudson. Both wethers weighed about the same so they competed against each other in the same class.

Lizzy with Finn & Isaac with Hudson.

Lizzy with Finn & Isaac with Hudson.

Here the kids are standing them up so the judge could check them out.

Isaac with Hudson and Lizzy with Finn.

Isaac with Hudson and Lizzy with Finn.

Hudson had a mighty fine looking body on him! We were impressed by how much he had bulked up his muscles.

Hudson

Hudson

Finn looked good the way Lizzy was holding him here.

Lizzy showing Finn.

Lizzy showing Finn.

Isaac and Hudson with their ribbon.

Isaac and Hudson with their ribbon.

Isaac and Hudson with their ribbon.

Isaac and Shelton with their ribbon.

Isaac and Shelton with their ribbon.

Isaac and Shelton with their ribbon.

As always, this family did a fine job feeding, trimming, and preparing these animals for the fair. They always work hard to be sure they look just right.

Here are all of us after the show except for our daughter, Colleen, who was taking the picture!

Here's all of us except for Colleen who was taking the picture!

Here’s all of us except for Colleen who was taking the picture!

We sure enjoyed our time with this wonderful family and look forward to seeing them again next year.

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Cattlemen’s Days—Gunnison County Fair 2022

When we went to the Gunnison County Fair last year (2021), it took us several hours to get there. Highway 50 was closed (due to work on the canyon) and we had to go around.

Luck was on our side this year as the highway opened up to one lane traffic on July 5th!

We were delighted, but we still left early just in case we would have to wait to go through the one lane traffic. Turns out the delay was less than 30 minutes.

Our new customer family—Tristan and Abigail—picked out their wethers early in the year. Abigail chose Chester (here she is with him).

Abigail with Chester.

Abigail with Chester.

And Tristan chose Ned.

Tristan picking Ned.

Tristan picking Ned.

As these wethers were too young to leave their mama at the time, Abigail and Tristan returned to pick them up the middle of March.

Here is Chester ready and waiting to go to his new home.

Chester.

Chester.

Ned is also ready for his new family to come from Gunnison to pick him up.

Ned Pepper.

Ned Pepper.

It’s colder in Gunnison than it is here, so it was a good thing that these wethers still had their winter coats on!

Here they are in their new home. Tristan and Abigail are taking them for a walk so they can see their new surroundings!

Tristan with Ned and Abigail with Chester.

Tristan with Ned and Abigail with Chester.

Neither Tristan nor Abby had ever shown goats before, but we thought they did a pretty good job with them. Ned weighed 90 pounds and Chester weighed 102 pounds.

Here is Tristan with his Reserve Grand Champion ribbon on Ned that they took in their class.

Tristan and Ned with their Reserve Grand Champion ribbon.

Tristan and Ned with their Reserve Grand Champion ribbon.

And here is Abigail showing Chester with the Reserve Grand Champion ribbon that they took in their class.

Abigail and Chester with their Reserve Grand Champion ribbon.

Abigail and Chester with their Reserve Grand Champion ribbon.

Chester was a handful for Abigail to handle as I’m sure he weighed more than she did! But she did a fantastic job with him.

Such a great family and we sure enjoyed meeting them and getting to know them. So nice that their Grandparents could come to see the show as well as I know they had to travel from a different state to be there.

We look forward to seeing all of them again next year!

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New Talent Emerges at the Mesa County Fair 2022!

We were thrilled to have a new family from Mesa County email us this year and ask if we had any wethers for sale. 

They were checking with us rather late so our group of wethers was about sold out. 

We had just four babies left that we were considering selling and three of them were females so I felt like their choices were very limited! However they came up to the ranch and looked at what we had left.

Here’s Jaiden looking at Rivets our last wether.

Jaiden picking Rivets.

Jaiden picking Rivets.

Jaiden and his family decided to take Rivets and one doe – Roulette.

Here are Rivets & Roulette in their new home.

Roulette & Rivets in their new home.

Roulette & Rivets in their new home.

Jaiden spent hours working with his two goats and that was very obvious when he came into the show ring.

Here he is at home working with both of them on leading.

Jaiden with Roulette & Rivets.

Jaiden with Roulette & Rivets.

We were super eager to get to the Mesa County Fair Goat Show to see how Jaiden had done working with his two goats.

Man were we ever surprised and pleased to see the fine job that young man had done feeding, trimming, washing, and teaching these goats to lead — they just looked fantastic!

Here’s Jaiden showing Rivets. 

They came in 3rd and that was great considering that the classes were quite large.

Jaiden showing Rivets.

Jaiden showing Rivets.

Then Jaiden came into the show ring with Roulette. She was absolutely beautiful and Jaiden did an amazing job showing her as well. Apparently the Judge thought so too as Roulette came in in 2nd place!

Here is Jaiden showing Roulette.

Jaiden showing Roulette.

Jaiden showing Roulette.

Here is Jaiden with Roulette after winning 2nd in his market goat class.

Congratulations Jaiden & Roulette

Jaiden showing Roulette.

Congratulations to Jaiden and his super helpful family for all the work they put into taking care of these two goats.

It’s so great when it can be a family affair as that is what 4-H is all about. We look forward to seeing all of them next year!

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Eagle County Fair 2021

Our Eagle County kids came back for goats again this year.

That made us very happy as they are the neatest kids we have been around in a long time.

Here they are the first part of January, selecting their choices. Lizzy has Huckleberry and Isaac has Andrew that later became Lizzy’s.

Lizzy & Huckleberry; Isaac & Andrew

Lizzy with Huckleberry and Isaac with Andrew.

Isaac picked Leonardo and later chose Horace as well.

Isaac with Leonardo. (His older brother Jacob in the background.)

Isaac with Leonardo. (His older brother Jacob in the background.)

Horace.

Horace.

Big brother Jacob stands Leonardo up.  Having had lots of experience showing goats himself, he does a great job helping his younger siblings with theirs.

Jacob posing Leonardo.

Jacob posing Leonardo.

We were eager to go to the Eagle County Fair and see how Lizzy and Isaac were doing and how the goats had grown. They always take such good care of their animals so we knew they would look super.

Eagle County FairIsaac took second place in his division in showmanship with Horace. That’s pretty cool as it is only his second year of showing goats, and the competition was stiff.

Good job Isaac.

Isaac 2nd place showmanship.

Isaac 2nd place showmanship.

Here is Lizzy with Huckleberry.

Lizzy showing Huckleberry.

Lizzy showing Huckleberry.

She does an excellent job showing him and here she is with Huckleberry and their ribbon.

Lizzy & Huckleberry with ribbon.

Lizzy & Huckleberry with ribbon.

And Isaac showing Horace.

Isaac showing Horace.

Isaac showing Horace.

He does a super job showing him and here he is with Horace and their ribbon.

Isaac and Horace with their ribbon.

Isaac and Horace with their ribbon.

Here comes Lizzy showing Andrew.

Lizzy showing Andrew.

Lizzy showing Andrew.

He had really grown and you could tell Lizzy had worked with him as she made it look easy.

Lizzy & Andrew.

Lizzy & Andrew.

And Isaac with Leonardo.

Isaac and Leonardo.

Isaac and Leonardo.

I am sure that Leonardo weighed more than Isaac but he did a great job showing him anyway.

Isaac & Leonardo.

Isaac & Leonardo.

It was a lot of fun going to Eagle County and being a small part in the lives of this wonderful family.

We are convinced that they are the nicest family in all of Eagle County!

(Though we didn’t realize that when not showing goats, Isaac is a private investigator analyzing clues and solving crimes while stroking his mustache. Perhaps he was looking into the great watermelon disappearance…does Lizzy look like she’s hiding something behind that mischievous smile?)

Nicest family in Eagle County.

Nicest family in Eagle County.

We look forward to seeing them all again next year.

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San Miguel County Fair 2021

San Miguel County FairWe had some new customers call us this year from San Miguel County.

I was thrilled to learn that their goat show was held in Norwood, Colorado, as it is an absolutely beautiful area.

We used to go to Norwood a couple of times every summer when our boys attended the Boy Scout camp there.  That was a long time ago, and we were looking forward to seeing that part of the state again.

As we traveled over the Dallas Divide, through Norwood Canyon, and up the hill to where you could see the amazing Lone Cone Mountain, we could certainly see that its beauty has not changed one bit.

Our new customers arrived in January 2021 to pick out the goats they wanted to show. It was lucky that we had several boys for them to choose from as some years we run out pretty quickly!

Here’s Peyton with her choice — Sherlock Holmes.

Peyton with Sherlock

Peyton with Sherlock.

Then Marlee with her pick — Mark Twain.

Marlee with Mark Twain.

Marlee with Mark Twain.

And Anberlynn with Pontoon.

Anberlynn with Pontoon.

Anberlynn with Pontoon.

When they came back the end of March to gather their animals, they also took Midas — seen here with Grandpa holding him.

Grandpa holding Midas.

Grandpa holding Midas.

Arriving at the San Miguel Fair, we found the girls and their goats and were amazed at how they had grown.  These three girls had done a fine job of clipping them, washing them, and finishing them off to get them ready for the show.

Here’s Peyton with Sherlock.

Peyton showing Sherlock.

Peyton showing Sherlock.

Marlee with Mark Twain.

Marlee showing Mark Twain.

Marlee showing Mark Twain.

Marlee again with Midas.

Marlee with Midas.

Marlee with Midas.

Anberlynn with Pontoon. I’m sure he weighed more than she did!

Anberlynn with Pontoon.

Anberlynn with Pontoon.

They were such a neat family to get to know and we enjoyed seeing how well they took care of their animals.

It was a pleasure to be part of this journey with these girls and we look forward to spending more time in Norwood.

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