🐐Goats: learning to show

Showing is where all your work pays off. The judge sees your goat for maybe two minutes. Everything you do in those two minutes, and the months of training before, decides how it goes. The good news: showing goats is fun, and any kid who practices a little every day gets good at it.

Rule: You must show in the showmanship class to sell your goat at the auction. Showmanship isn’t optional.

Gear you’ll need

• Show collar: a chain collar or a stiff nylon show collar. Chains give more control for bracing; nylon is gentler for beginners.
• A plain training collar and lead for everyday walks.
• Soft brush for daily grooming.
• Hoof trimmers (trim 1–2 weeks before fair, not the day before).
• Clippers with a surgical or #10 blade for slick shearing.
• Spray conditioner or sheen for the day of the show.
• Goat blanket or tube to keep him clean after shearing.
• Show stick or a small block for practicing feet placement (optional).
• A water bottle and a towel for you.

Training timeline

Work backward from check-in on Tuesday, September 14, 2027. Fifteen minutes a day beats an hour on Saturday.

When	What to practice
Week 1 at home (April–June)	Let the goat settle in. Sit in the pen. Hand-feed a few pellets so he learns you’re the good guy.
Weeks 2–3	Collar and lead. Walk in the pen. He’ll pull and flop. Stay calm, don’t drag, reward with a step forward.
Weeks 4–6	Walk outside the pen. Stop and start. Start standing him still with all four feet under him.
Weeks 7–10	Setting up. Place each foot squarely. Practice pushing gently on his chest so he braces (pushes back).
Weeks 11–14	Have a parent or sibling act as the judge. Handle his loin and leg while you keep him braced. Practice switching sides.
Late July–Aug	Enter a pre-fair show (SAILA show, jackpot, or livestock camp). It’s required, and it’s the best practice you can get.
Late Aug	Slick shear 1–2 weeks before fair. Trim hooves. Keep training daily.
Fair week	Short daily sessions in the barn so the noise and people feel normal.

Teaching the brace

Bracing is when the goat leans into your hand and flexes his muscle so the judge can feel it.

1. Set his feet square.
2. Stand in front, slightly to the side. Cup the collar in one hand.
3. Gently push back on his chest or the base of his neck.
4. The second he pushes back, stop pushing and praise him.
5. Build up to holding the brace for 10 seconds, then longer.

Never lift the front feet off the ground. That’s not a brace, and judges don’t like it.

Ring technique

Walking in

• Enter when the ring steward calls your class. Walk with confidence, goat on your right, you on the goat’s left.
• Keep a full goat’s length between you and the goat ahead.
• Always keep your goat between you and the judge. As the judge moves, you move.

Setting up

• When the judge lines you up, set your goat up in under 5 seconds. Front feet under the shoulders, back feet under the hips, all four square.
• Head up, neck stretched a little forward. Not straight up in the air.
• Stay in a balanced crouch or stand, whichever your goat responds to. Don’t kneel on the ground.

When the judge handles

• Brace as the judge approaches.
• Keep your eyes moving between the judge and your goat. Look at the judge when they look at you.
• If the judge moves to the other side, switch sides smoothly by stepping around the goat’s head, never behind.
• Keep the goat still and braced the whole time the judge’s hands are on him.

Moving

• When asked to walk, walk in a straight line at a steady pace and set up again quickly where the judge points.
• When you turn, turn the goat away from you (push, don’t pull him around your legs).

Manners

• Don’t crowd. Don’t block another exhibitor’s goat.
• Stay quiet in the ring. No talking to friends.
• Be ready. The judge might come back to you twice.
• Smile. Really. Judges notice kids who look like they’re enjoying it.

Showmanship questions

Judges usually ask a few questions to see if you know your project. Practice these out loud with a parent.

Question	Sample answer
What do you feed?	“A 16 percent show goat pellet, about 2½ pounds a day split in two feedings, plus a handful of alfalfa and free-choice goat mineral.”
How much does he weigh?	Know it! “He weighed 82 pounds at weigh-in last night.”
What breed?	“He’s a Boer cross wether.”
How old is he?	“He was born in February, so he’s about 7 months.”
Why was he disbudded?	“For safety, and because NCJL rules say wethers must be disbudded before 3 weeks and scurs can’t be over an inch.”
Name the wholesale cuts of goat.	“Shoulder, rack (rib), loin, and leg.”
Point to the loin.	Put your hand flat on his back right behind the last rib.
Point to the hock.	The joint in the middle of the back leg.
Point to the pastern.	Just above the hoof.
What’s his rate of gain?	“About 0.4 pounds a day.”
Why do you use ammonium chloride?	“It helps prevent urinary stones in wethers.”

Learn the parts of the goat: poll, muzzle, dewlap, brisket, point of shoulder, knee, pastern, hoof, heart girth, loin, hip, pin bone, stifle, hock, dock.

Dress code

This is a rule, not a suggestion, and it applies in the ring and at the sale.

• Button-down or collared shirt, tucked in
• Belt
• Nice pants or jeans with no rips or holes
• Sturdy closed-toe boots or shoes. No tennis shoes, no sandals.
• Hair neat and out of your face
• Your exhibitor number (matches your goat’s NCJL tag) pinned on your back or in a number clip
• A 4-H patch or jacket is allowed

Check-in and weigh-in

Check-in is Tuesday, September 14, 2027, 5:00–9:00 PM. Goats weigh 6–7 PM with the lambs and turkeys.

1. Unload on the east side of the steer barn and lead your goat to the pen. You have 10 minutes, then move your vehicle.
2. Go to the check-in table (the white trailer between the pig barn and sale ring). Bring your Seasonal Pass and current YQCA certificate.
3. Hang your feeder with your cut panel and zip ties. Bed the pen with shavings.
4. Brush your goat. He must be clean and dry and his ear tag readable at the scale.
5. Walk to the scale at 6 PM. One official weigh, one immediate re-weigh if you ask before leaving the scale.
6. If you have two goats, declare at the scale which one is your showmanship goat. If you have more than one species, declare which animal you’re selling.
7. Be at the mandatory exhibitor meeting at 6:45 PM, sale ring bleachers.

Heads up: If you miss your weigh time you can weigh after all species finish, but don’t risk it. Be lined up early.

Fair-week routine in the goat barn

Market goat judging is Thursday at 8:00 AM, the first show of the day, followed right away by Junior (8–13) and Senior (14–18) showmanship. Plan to be at the barn by 6 AM Thursday.

Every morning by 9:00 AM (this is a rule):

• Feed and water
• Clean the pen and replace wet shavings
• Sweep your aisle and keep the walkway clear of buckets and feed
• Tarps and shades completely down

Every evening:

• Feed and water
• Brush and blanket
• Check the carabiner on your pen
• Take a 10-minute training walk

Extra shavings are $15 a bag from the Fair Office before 9 AM. Dirty shavings go to the fence between the carnival and rodeo arena.

Round Robin

If you win your Junior or Senior showmanship class, you’ll represent goats in the Round Robin on Friday morning at 9 AM, showing every species. Watch the pig, lamb, and steer shows Thursday so you know what to do. Ask the winners of those classes to give you a two-minute lesson. Everybody helps each other in the Round Robin, and it’s one of the coolest things at the fair.

Sportsmanship

• Congratulate the kid who beats you. Shake hands.
• Thank the judge when you leave the ring.
• Help younger kids in the barn.
• If you have a question about a placing, your parent takes it to the goat superintendent calmly, right after the class. Never argue in the ring.

After the show

Friday is the sale. Bring your family’s drinks for the buyer luncheon, put on your show clothes again, and read The Auction so you know how it works. Then read Fair week for Sunday check-out.

You did it. Now go write the whole thing down in your record book.