# Pack Goat expertise in Central California



## Young Daddy Goat (Dec 21, 2008)

I have been asked to co-ordinate a first-time pack goat activity, event, demonstration at The Fair (http://thefair.org/) in Santa Clara County, where our 4-H club is located. The Fair will run the last few days of July through the first few days of August, 2009.

The county has one officially recognized 4-H packgoat project, led by a new 4-H adult leader (myself) who could really use some help and advice on this.

We would like to put on a demonstration, and get the youth to show off the skills they and their animals have developed over the last year. My project is in its first year, and will be going into fair with yearling wethers and does. I know of one youth in another local club who has been working on his own with now-2-year-old wethers and who has saved up enough to purchase a saddle, but no other packing equipment for his boys.

We could use help with:
- Ideas and advice for showing off our young discipline.
- A qualified judge who could give useful feedback to our youth on the accomplishments and deficiencies of their animals and their training.
- An experienced pack goat handler with trained pack goat(s) to demonstrate something we can set our sights on for in the coming years.

Primary purpose is to encourage the 4-H (and FFA?) youth to extend their skills with their goats and with life in general. A secondary purpose is to engage and impress the general public with another reason to support the retention of the fair, which may soon lose more of its fairgrounds to development activities proposed for the county.

Looking forward to your responses!

--Douglas


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## sweetgoatmama (Dec 10, 2008)

Jan Privratsky has written a 4-H project book for her fair. It can be found on the NAPgA website at www.napga.org

She can help with 4-H stuff if you have specific questions.


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## Young Daddy Goat (Dec 21, 2008)

Thanks for the pointer, Carolyn! The materials from the 2006 Linn County fair classes will provide a great model, and your books give me good information, as well.

I'm also hoping for connections to people who might be available to judge or coach in-person, and who have personal goat packing experiences to inform the judgment. Being a mostly non-judgmental person, I tend to think all living creatures are great, and when pressed, don't have the personal experience to confidently say that this goat would carry a pack better, longer, farther, faster than that goat... I'm sure I could justify a decision, if it comes to it, but it would be from reading and book learning, since I have never met a full-grown or well-trained pack goat!  

I hope to be remedying this personal deficiency in June at the NAPgA rendezvous, but thought perhaps I might find some local cohort to exhort me and support this effort.

One other consideration: since I will have personal connections to some of the participants, being their 4-H project leader, it may require a bit more effort to maintain an effectively unbiased judging if I am the judge.

--Douglas


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## sweetgoatmama (Dec 10, 2008)

A good dairy judge can be a good packgoat judge if you supply them with the project boook and conformation diagrams. The Linn County book has been accepted and endorsed by NAPgA and approved for use everywhere. 
Generally classes are divided into two parts, conformation or showmanship, and an obedience/obstacle section. A combined score shows the winner, or you can award each section.


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## pjbullygoat (Jan 4, 2009)

Hi Douglas, Carolyn has given you the same advice that I will. A good dairy goat judge will be thrilled to help you. I have sent an informataional packet to the judge and she has done an excellent job. I have been fortunate the last few years to have a local member of the Cascade Packgoat Club to judge for me. 

The way to impress the public is to make some obstacles and have the kids practice with their goats. A teeter totter, walk the plank, water obstacle, etc. It will give the kids confidence in themselves and their goats and it looks great. 

let me know what else you need. 
Jan Privratsky
Lebanon, OR Life's an adventure..........especially with goats!


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## Lightfoot Packgoats (Dec 12, 2008)

Douglass;

I'll help you in any way I can. I've judged packgoat classes for our 4-H club, although my only previous judging experience has been in FFA as a teen.

[email protected]

Is my email and I can give you my phone number if you email me. We can talk and perhaps I can answer questions over the phone if Jan and Carolyn have not already answered them.

Charlie Goggin
Lightfoot Packgoats


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