A goat's gruff above the rest
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on October 3, 2017 5:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Isaac, 12, and Gabrielle Young, 14, watch their competition with their goats Friday night as the Open Junior Meat Goat Show begins at the livestock shelter.
Four young people earned championship awards at the Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair Friday, as the fair hosted the Junior Meat Goat Show.
Dozens of youths competed, spread across three age categories. First up were the senior showmen, aged 14-19 years old. Eighteen contestants took to the floor in three groups, circling the judge and maintaining eye contact with him as much as possible while trying to keep their goats in prime position to show them off.
As the contestants walked their animals around, they frequently corrected the goats' posture and positioning. A small nudge here, a bump of the hand there to get the animals in their proper spot and then back around the enclosure they went.
Of course, these being goats, things were not always that simple. One particularly steadfast animal dug all four of its hooves into the ground, bleating out loudly while its handler tried -- with mixed results -- to get it to move.
Those kinds of incidents fell by the wayside as the field narrowed. From 18 contestants down to 10, and then again to six, the group was whittled down to the top flight of showmen. When the judge made his final decision, 17-year-old Caley Mayo was named senior showmanship champion.
Mayo said that she was excited to win, because coming in first put her in line to win the overall series of shows on her circuit. She said the win came down to hard work.
"It's all about how much work you put in in the barn," she said. "Every day I go out to the barn and I spend between 30 and 45 minutes with each animal, it ends up being a lot of work."
Mayo was also crowned Grand Champion of the event. In the 9-13 year old age range, India Young took first place, while Taryn Reams came in first in the 5-8 year old category. Scarlett Denning won Reserve Champion.