Mason Dixon Fair 2013: Day 2

Yesterday was a very busy day for us at the Mason-Dixon Fair. After the am goat-feeding (for the fair goats), we took a few hours at home to take care of other animals and pick green beans, and then headed back in the afternoon for the fiber goat show.  Fiber goats are shown with halters rather than collars (so that their fleece is not harmed).  Luckily there was an old pro there who was willing to share her knowledge; we apparently were walking our goats around with the halters on incorrectly!  It was very nice of her to let us know before we got into the show ring and the judge had to tell us.

So, Colleen was up first, with Fiber Goat Showmanship (in showmanship they judge the handlers rather than the animals). She was first in her age class, and received Reserve Champion Showmanship overall for fiber goats:

 

After showmanship the fiber goats competed by age class.  Both of our does were in the same class, as they are the same age.  Sassafrass (the greyer one) came in second, and Midnight (the black/grey one) came in third.  Of course, Colleen had chosen to show Sassafrass and was quite happy that her goat placed above mine:

 

Since Sassafrass placed second, she got to compete for both Supreme Champion and best fleece.  She placed 4th:

And yes, that is Chad holding a goat that is not ours. The young man (he's 4!) had 2 goats entered, and they were both competing in Supreme Champion.  The black goat that Chad led around won that category.

And that's not all! Showmanship for the market goats was also this evening.  Apparently the adult class (which they so nicely call "Older and Bolder") only had one entry, so they decided that it would be fun to have me walk one of our crazy goats around.  I got a nice little blue "Participation" ribbon (which I will take over the mud brown 8th place one Colleen got with this goat on Monday).

Colleen also had to do showmanship for the market goats. She placed 2nd in her age category:

And here we are with all our ribbons and Colleen's trophy:

Mason Dixon Fair 2013: Day 1

Yesterday was our first day at the Mason Dixon Fair, located just above the Maryland line in Delta, PA.  The goats that we took with us were mostly cooperative getting into the trailer and luckily it's only about 15 minutes from our house.  Unfortunately, we picked the exact time of the afternoon that it decided to rain in which to drive over and unload.  Extra bath for the goats I guess! 

Last night Colleen showed 2 does in the breeding classes. Our younger doe, "Fluffball," placed 8 out of 8:

 



The 2-year old doe, "Snowflake," placed 3rd out of 6!  Both of these goats gave Colleen a hard time, as they did not settle in too well at first.

After they were done showing, and people were coming around to look at them, they would let everyone pet them but us. I guess they were afraid we were going to make them walk around that ring and get felt by the judge again!

The angora girls on the other hand, settled right in. Their pen is right next to the tack pen, and they have already tried to help themselves to some of the people snacks stored next door. We also have our hay in there, and Midnight has figured out that she can stick her head through the bars and eat as much as she wants!