# My kids first 4-H Shows



## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Our county fair had an open goat show on Saturday, there weren't a lot of people/goats there, but some of the 'big dogs' were there with their families and goats. It was fun even though we were so lost LOL BTW, they are just showing a couple of percentage does to get going in 4-H, next year we'll have a better idea of how to get the goats ready, what to look for, etc....I hope anyway! :laugh:

My son, James getting the girls settled into a stall <cattle panels so we had to watch them close so they didn't escape!>









Marisa was eating her favorite...pb&j and wearing it too..heh...of course she's not going to look at the camera are you kidding??  









My son's doe, Madison a Jan 2011 nubian/boer. 


















My daughter, Jessica with her doe, Daisy <boer/kiko>, and my son with a tag a long as I call her, he wants to use her for showmanship, but she's also a babysitter while one doe is in the ring she stays with the other one...Mischief is a nubian/boer..both are late Feb girls - Mischief was born in the morning and Daisy born that same night :wink: 









Showmanship



























The other two boys were more experienced showmen. However, my kids biggest problem is keeping eye contact with the judge. They are sooooooo shy, and even though I stress how important it is, this is something they need to keep practicing.









One quick pic...wish they would have set the girls up LOL My daughter got 2nd in her does age group, third in showmanship. James got fourth in showmanship, third in percentage doe 3-6mo, and first in percentage doe 6-9 and Grand Reserve Champion in percentage doe









Then this morning we went to another show at the county fair just north of us. It's a bigger show, and was a lot of fun  Lots of beautiful goats! The barn set up/pens were really nice, and being on a hill and a breezy day it kept us from melting in the heat! It was a long day though! We arrived at 9am and didn't leave until after 3pm, didn't stay until the end of the show - kids were tired and hungry and I wanted to beat any thunderstorms so we weren't out in it.

Mischief our lil babysitter hehe...Madison doesn't like to be in the stall alone and will get upset. 









Jessica didn't do as well in showmanship this time around. She wasn't watching the judge, and making sure Daisy was set up properly. She's gotta come out of her shell if she wants to do well in showmanship....


















The judge had them trade goats for a walk & set up


















Madison was ready to go









Did I say she was ready to go? she drags my son around the ring. It's not too bad, he can control her, but she's so eager...and.. It's sooo funny watching her LOL



























Soooo embarrassed and not watching the judge. James has the same problem though...they'll get it eventually 



























The doe behind them was freaking out 




































Maddie the poser!




































James and Madison took first place in the 6-9 mo percentage doe class :thumbup:

This judge said she was more structurally sound, and had perfect teat structure. This made my son's day 
Of course she stood no chance with the other classes for grand champion, those does are sooooo meaty and big!

We had cut her back on grain a bit because she was HUGE, but she's really dropped the weigh since being weaned, as has my daughters doe. So we're working on getting them built back up. 
The county 4-H/FFA show to judge their projects/choose state fair projects is at the end of July so we have lots of work to do getting them ready. THey are being grained all they want, and we're working on adding more protein into their diet <they are getting show chow plus through the day we give them a mix with sweet feed/BOSS> Going to get them on Alfalfa hay again daily, and I do have beet pulp we're adding in again. The heat we've had already this summer hasn't helped one bit.

So anyway, first two shows were lots of fun  There is another one, a big one Wed night, but I think we'll skip that one for now, and do a smaller show somewhere, worry about getting weight on the girls. There are a few shows they want to do next month


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## freedomstarfarm (Mar 25, 2011)

:stars: Great shots the kids do look shy but like they are having a blast at the same time. :wink: I bet they are loving it! Congrats on all the placings!


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## peggy (Aug 11, 2010)

Love the pics. How much fun you must have had. Lucky children to have such an opportunity to get involved in such an event. I was raised in the city, wish I had been a country girl. Thanks for sharing. you show us the most amazing photos.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Very nice....indeed.... :hi5:  :greengrin:


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## GotmygoatMTJ (Apr 25, 2009)

:clap: :stars: :leap: 

Those pictures are great! And your kids are beautiful/handsome! ( The two legged and the four legged!)

I had the same problem with eye contact. Just tell them to pretend the judge is their best friend. Being nice and friendly with the judge is a good thing!


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## Amos (Oct 2, 2008)

Wow, it looks like quite the experience. Can't blame them on that second show, that judge looked mean. Lol.
I was the same way at that age, deathly shy. Heck I still am! Lol.

Congratz to your kids!


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## pelicanacresMN (Dec 29, 2009)

Looks like they had fun! Great job capturing it all on camera too!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks! I think he was a good judge, but being he looked so tough, I do think that was intimdating with the kids. He did seem nice, and wish the kids could have met him before the show so they wouldn't have been so scared to make eye contact with him LOL
He was very picky about getting it all right, which is how I think he needed to be. He didn't really get onto anyone, he pointed out noticable faults. My daughter placed last in showmanship, but I told her she knows what she needs to work on - EYE CONTACT!!! He also said the only reason he placed the kids on the end that way was because they were also least knowledgable about goats. 

You should have heard him lecturing the kids in the fullblooded doe classes. A lot of the kids parents are big time breeders, and these kids are showing expensive goats....he wasn't happy with them because of teat structure. He said teat structure is extremely important, and he doesn't care if the buck is related to so and so, if he doesn't have excellent teat structure he is going to pass it down to his kids, and the problem just continues. He was stressing this to the kids and people listening in. Some of the nicer looking does from the big breeders placed middle to end of the line because of teat structure.
Just like in my son's doe percentage class. Not only was there a structural issue, but our doe had the best teat structure. He checked EVERY doe for teat structure. He was lifting up legs on the shorter ones to get a good look. 
So yeah I think he was tough, but a good kind of tough


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## nancy d (Oct 5, 2007)

Great pics, beautiful does & children! If you ask me I think your girls have great condition!


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## GotmygoatMTJ (Apr 25, 2009)

I want to meet that judge! He sounds like my kind of person!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

THanks Nancy! We build them up and get some meat on them and I think they are really going to look soooo much better  

I liked that the judge was looking at the teat structure, especially with those particular goats as many came from pro breeders farms. And on that level I would most certainly think that would be a big factor. However, this is kids showing...so I felt bad for the kids.

I am pretty pleased with our doelings this year. We had 5 doelings born - 3 were 1x1, another was 2x2, and another was 1x1 with a split. I still have a lot to learn about teat structure, but for mixbred kids that were not bred for perfection, I think they did okay.


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## RowdyKidz (Apr 2, 2009)

The kids - two and four legged -- all look very happy!  Just wanted to congradulate them on their great job! :stars:  :leap: 

Just be sure they know all their goat's bones and body parts for showmanship. As they get older they will get questioned... And also be sure their eyes are nearly always on the judge and they always have a nice big smile! :wink: :greengrin: It will help!

Overall though, it looks like they were doing a really good job!


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks so much! It was a lot of fun  My kids were very confident and didn't hesitate going into the ring which was a GREAT thing!

I've told them several times to keep eye contact with the judge, and to look like they are having fun <not look terrified or like they are over thinking things!>. THey do still need to learn the parts of a goat, but have memorized a few things, we're going to work on that more, so thanks for the reminder as I keep forgetting they need me to print up a pic that lists the body parts!

Hopefully we get to practice with them in a little while. The weather isn't looking so great for co operation though.


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## Itchysmom (Apr 3, 2010)

Your kids...2 and 4 legged .... are awesome! The eye contact will come as they get more comfortable. My daughter was like that in the show ring when she was showing her horse. 

I love Madison's atitude! She looks like she wants everyones attention!


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## RPC (Nov 6, 2009)

I think your kids did awesome for their first 2 shows. I am really proud of them which I am sure you are too. One thing that helped me with the parts is to be quizzed with the actual goat. I am a hands on learner so my dad would ask me where the parts are and I would touch those parts on the real goat. I don't know what kind of learners your kids are but for a hand on learner that worked best for me. Madison looked really nice, just keep feeding her and she should do awesome. Your son had the look on his face in some of those pictures like he had been doing this for years. He seemed so serious, Your daughter not quite as serious but she looked like she had a good time. I wish you guys luck with the rest of your shows. Our show is the 22nd of July so we will see how things go. I feel like our goats are soooo short but I found last year it is because I am used to cattle and mine were right about average for their age. It was really funny being next to ND's because our 6 month old does were 2 times as tall that adult nigi's. If I think my boers look small I don't know what I would do if I raised ND's.


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## HoosierShadow (Apr 20, 2010)

Thanks Rogers! Yep I am very proud of them  And I totally agree, my son is very serious about it, I told him not to think so hard, and to smile LOL My daughter is soooo nervous, I think she just draws a blank in the show ring on what she needs to be doing. 

They have a few weeks before they do anymore shows, most all the counties around us do their fair in July. That will give them time to get their goats in shape  The Bluegrass fair in Lexington is July 20th, that should be a fun show to go to, it's a BIG fair, and sure to attract a lot of people/goats. The kids are excited about that one, I told them it's in the evening so it will be a BUSY fairground.
Besides that I am hopefull they can do one possibly on July 11th, 18th, and 28th. Their county specific show is the 26th. 
There is also a 4-H Capers costume contest on July 23rd so we're trying to figure out what the kids can dress up as to match their goats! We're drawing a blank so I know I'll be posting in a few minutes for ideas! 
I like that they can go from fair to fair, it's been fun. And with trying to work on getting them some variety to show next year.... They will hopefully have even more fun!

I can see thinking they are short compared to cattle, hehe  I've never seen a ND up close, but in the pics they look sooo tiny! I couldn't imagine standing next to one with a boer LOL I sure hope your nieces have a great time next month, make sure you get lots of pictures to share!


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## Calico Patch Farm (Mar 8, 2011)

Everyone looks great! I know my first two years in 4-H, I wasn't very good at showmanship, but last year (my third year) I took Master Showman in both of the shows I went to because I have lots of experience and I knew as much as possible about goats as I could. What I always do, print out a picture of goat body parts (google it) and study it for about 10 minutes each day. After 2-3 days, I knew them all. It's super easy and helps you place better and understand what the judge is talking about. Also, I was very shy at first with the eye contact thing, so I just looked at their noses. It may sound weird, but I wasn't looking directly at them, but the judge thought I was. The best advice I can give is to study (body parts, breed characteristics, faults, etc.) and to watch other kids showing. I picked up so many tips just from watching. After a couple of shows, they will be well on their way to placing first in their classes. Good luck!!!


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## circledsfarm (Jun 19, 2011)

Wonderful Pics I LOVE seeing kids showing :clap: thanks for taking the time to post the pics & all the details!


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Candace...those are wonderful pictures!

Your kids did AWESOME! I myself have never had opportunity to show...growing up, our critters were more for food but I can totally relate to how both your kids felt! I don't like being "center of attention" and avoid crowds....I'm more comfortable with my animals, I'm sure that with experience they'll lose some of the shyness :hug:


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