Junior goat showmanship gives children, young adults opportunity to compete, connect
PROSPECT — Even before the Big Butler Fair properly opened its gates Sunday morning, July 5, the goats and sheep barn was filled with a hustle and bustle that only comes on show day.
With the junior goat showmanship competition set to start at 9 a.m., dozens of showmen and women across several age groupings worked diligently to ensure their animal — and they themselves — would be giving the best possible performance for the judge.
The work was not as simple as just having the best looking goat, but also the way its handlers can control and present it. Competitors balanced several tasks, such as bracing the goat, making eye contact with the judge and constantly positioning themselves to keep the goat in view of the judge.
Jeana Maxwell, who took home first place in the senior category with her goat Fettuccini, said she’s been showing animals for four years now with goats being her focus for the last two.
“I used to do beef cattle, but I’m in college and beef cattle take a lot of time and effort. With me being in school, I just didn’t have that time,” she said.
She said even working to prepare for a show — from feeding to grooming to training — is still a monumental task year-round.
“Typically, they have to be fed twice a day, pens cleaned everyday and you’re checking on their water throughout the day, especially on hot days. Typically, my goat gets washed and blow dried every other day, and they also get exercised every other day,” she explained.
Maxwell said the thing that keeps her in showmanship is not the competition alone, but rather the connections you make through the process.
“I’ve made a lot of pretty cool friends who are here. I’ve met my boyfriend of now three years showing here. He’s the one who got me into goats,” she said.
She said even though it’s a competition between one another, most of the people at the shows know and support one another.
“Everyone is very supportive. I won the class, but still, everybody was like ‘good job, good job,’” she said.
Kelly Hoffmann, a mother of one of Sunday’s competitors, added that the feeling of a second family extends beyond the competing children and into entire families involved in showmanship.
“You don’t realize how closely knit the kids are. And the parents too,” she said.
-
Ella McConnell holds one of her baby goats at the Big Butler Fair on Sunday, July 5. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
-
Sarah Leininger judges the senior showmanship goat competition, ages 16-21, with participant Tyler Karner at the Big Butler Fair on Sunday, July 5. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
-
Judge Sarah Leininger asks Caleb Miller some questions about his goat during the senior showmanship goat competition, ages 16-21, at the Big Butler Fair on Sunday, July 5. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
-
The goat barn was packed for the pee wee showmanship division, ages 7 and under, of the goat show at the Big Butler Fair on Sunday, July 5. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
-
Emily Hoffman shows her goat in the senior showmanship goat competition, ages 16-21, at the Big Butler Fair on Sunday, July 5.Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
-
Lane Soergel plays with his tractors during the showmanship goat competition at the Big Butler Fair on Sunday, July 5. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
-
From left, Katie Ludwik, her goat Brownie, judge Sarah Leininger, Haley Vorndran and her goat Magic take part in the ages 14 and 15 showmanship goat competition at the Big Butler Fair on Sunday, July 5. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
-
Will Schwalm shows his goat, Angel, in the senior showmanship goat competition, ages 16-21, at the Big Butler Fair on Sunday, July 5. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
-
Aiden Postupac pauses to feed a baby goat at the Big Butler Fair on Sunday, July 5. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
-
An Angora bunny named Chrome, owned by Teagan Bowers, is ready to be groomed before the judging begins in the rabbit building at the Big Butler Fair Sunday, July 5. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
-
An Angora bunny named Chrome, owned by Teagan Bowers, is ready to be groomed before the judging begins in the rabbit building at the Big Butler Fair Sunday, July 5. Holly Mead/Special to the Eagle
