Almost a marathon

The past two weekend have been a whirlwind of goat shows. First their was REDGA. Really this show is the place to be on Memorial Day weekend. All the big names in Northern CA come over and bring out their best goats. Such a beautiful show it actually moved the judge to tears and the amazingness of the animals. Needless to say I do not yet have the quality of animals that I expect to be standing in those champion line-up. So imagine my surprise when Ysis took GCH again! Not only does that give her a second milking leg (only 1 more until champion!) but she got to stand in a beautiful line-up again. Amusingly with the 4 goats in her class, she actually stood in every single place in one of the rings. Once again our 4Hers were able to come and help show the goats they are taking to the Fair this month. Even more fun, there was a 4Her who was from a different county who is really excited about Saanens (the breed I raise) so I was able to let her try taking one of my Saanens into showmanship and try it out. Overall one of the best REDGA weekends! The weekend finished with the acquisition of two new goat kids. Two does from Bill Davis' outstanding herd with bloodlines based in Nan Wojcik's Cisco herd. These two girls are so people friendly that perhaps "needy" might be a better term for them. They are really sweet and want as much love and attention we can give them. I really think they have even grown in the week that we have had them. This last weekend we continued the goat show marathon with a show up in Humboldt. On a map, Humboldt looks like it is just a ways up there. Wow, that is a long drive. And such an extremely different climate too. Here in the valley it was warm and sunny, up in Humboldt it was cloudy and overcast. I am a staunch believer in washing my goats before they go the show ring. Even I conceded that bathing them in that weather was crazy. The show itself was quite enjoyable and we were able to put one champion leg on Brazil. Azalea, who we took along in an attempt to fill out the Saanen jr show took RGCH twice behind a doe who went best in show in two different rings. The only down side of the show was the 6.5 hour drive home after leaving at 8pm at night. It was not, however as late as the night before when the show did not end until 10pm at night! Wow! that was a long show. The weekends ahead have a slowing of the goat shows, but the big shows like Watsonville and State fair still remain.