Everything you need to know to attend your first ADGA Goat show.
We get a lot of questions about shows, and while we are not masters of the show world, we are definitely able to share what it looks like to be beginners!
I would like to first ease any anxiety you might have about attending your first dairy Goat show because dairy Goat people are extremely helpful, welcoming, and friendly. Also, in my experience, the judges are equally open and patient with newbies. So while I can almost guarantee your first show will be complete chaos, I can also guarantee that no one will look poorly on you because of it. Quite the opposite - everyone in the show world is eager to help new people adjust because we all share the same passion for and love of dairy goats!
With that matter put to rest, we can move onto what you must prepare, as well as what you absolutely need and what is just fun to have with you.
Preparing Your Goats Before the Show
Ensure your goats are ready to parade around the ring.
Training the Goat
Tattooing the tail or ears
Bathing/Clipping/Shaving
There are a few other housekeeping things you need to do with your girls before you take them.
Trim their hooves
Have all registration papers in order
Take care of any testing required, although most shows don’t require it.
What to Pack (Must-Haves vs. Nice-to-Haves)
Must Haves…
White shirts and pants
Hay feeders
Shavings
Water buckets
Towels/Paper Towels
Food dishes
Snake chains
Milking Supplies
Nice To Haves…
Soap for washing 🐐
Pro Pink (polish of sorts)
Brush
Chlorhexidine solution from Tractor Supply for disease prevention
Registration Papers
Jars for milk
Clorox wipes
Folding Chairs (for your downtime)
Wagon (hauling to and from truck)
Leashes
As rookies, we took our hauling trailer to the first show, which was a PITA to keep them anchored, sheltered and shaded - we took a horse trailer after that which was a lot easier to manage. We have one now, but you can rent them cheaply.
Registering for the Show
When you register for the show, you will have to enter your goats with their registration and tattoo numbers and you’ll have to indicate which class and ring you want them in, and you want them in every ring to get the most judging on each goat. If there’s an A Ring and a B Ring and a class for your breed and age of goat. Register each goat in both rings because the rings will be under different judges and be at different times. They will not have goats that will overlap in each Ring, so one will start with one breed, and the other will do the opposite, so that you have an opportunity to show in both rings.
Registration also asks who will be showing the goats - I made the mistake in my first show of putting my daughter in this spot because she wanted to show, but she doesn’t technically own any goats. It doesn’t matter who physically steps in the ring for you, they are showing for you because the goats are registered under your name. There are opportunities for kids in youth shows but if you are just starting out, have your kids show under your barn name a.k.a. your name. It’s the goats the judges are looking at less the person doing the showing.
There is always a contact name for each show, and these ladies are always friendly and will answer any questions that you have. They are easy to reach by phone call. The only problem is that you don’t know quite which questions to ask!
At our very first show, we were persuaded to enter showmanship. You can enter showmanship if you know the scorecard and the biology of your breed. I only recommend this if you would like to be judged for your showing skills and knowledge of the scorecard, but it is not good “practice.” I repeat it is not good practice! We looked like fools when we did it at our first show having no knowledge of what we were doing!!
Kyla and Mom feeling like fools. (They looked great!)
When you reserve your stalls, you don’t need a different stall for every goat, I throw all of mine in together and they are more comfortable that way. The size of the stalls will be listed on the registration page so you know how many you can fit in each stall. Order one extra stall for storage. It’s inexpensive and well worth the extra cost.
Horse stalls in Ardmore, OK.
Goat Pens in Norman, OK.
Arrival and Setting Up
Arrival is casual - simply arrive and check in before the cutoff. (It is usually 9pm and a single person sitting at a folding table next to the ring.) People will be in the barn very late so you have plenty of time to set up and meet new friends, mingle or just drop your goats and crash for the night, but it is sometimes hard to figure out where to enter. Be prepared to drive around a little bit until you see something that looks open, and don’t be shy about going in a back door somewhere. They always have places to park your trailer so you can pull up to unload, park the trailer and head to the hotel.
Goat pens in Brownwood
Your unloading process will consist of making sure your stall is sanitized, laying down your bedding, filling up a water bucket, and putting your hay feeders out. I have never brought a milk or trim stand to a show, but many farms do. This is not something that people generally share for fear of cross contamination.
The need for a storage stall is real. Sometimes there is room elsewhere, but don’t count on it for every show.
Understanding the Show Schedule
Goat shows never start on time. They also always start with showmanship, and I’ve never seen a showmanship class empty so don’t feel like you have to rush to the barn in the morning. Arrive 15 minutes before the time the show is supposed to start and you will have plenty of time.
Shows are not great at posting the lineup. They won’t have this information ready when you check in the previous night so when you arrive in the morning, look around for a handwritten list taped to a door somewhere. (Take a picture of it.) They will only list the order of the breeds. (there are 9 recognized dairy breeds in ADGA.) Within each breed they go by class in order of age. They always start with the senior does, followed by junior does (after lunch) and then bucks. Yes, if you bring a senior doe, they expect her to be in milk. On this note, fall shows are better for newbies because there will be less senior does entered.
Now you sit back and wait for your turn. This is where it’s more fun to bring goats in different classes - it prevents you from sitting around all day waiting. In our first show we only brought two junior bucks and two junior dose and arrived super early and waited around most of the day until it was our turn.
What Happens in the Ring
It is perfectly acceptable to bring your goats ringside and tie them up while you watch the other shows, but don’t keep them out there too long - they get nervous and agitated, and then don’t perform very well in the ring.
A bewildered goat is a behaved goat!
The hour before it’s your turn is a great time to change into your whites, clean hooves, and tidy them up a little bit with last minute shaving touch ups, a little gloss and polish, and a quick practice walking.
I will never forget the advice of my friend Rhonda when my son was in the Ring for the first time:
You only need to remember three things….
Keep eye contact with the judge (this is more important than positioning your goat)
Keep your goat chain high up on the neck to keep her head up because up means control
Always keep the goat between yourself and the judge.
Everything else is just icing.
Pay attention to the judge and the person in line before you and you will know exactly what to do.
Senior Does at Brownwood Show
Each Breed/Class in each ring is run the same way:
Walk your goat around the ring and stop to line up when judge asks.
The judge will go down the line and may ask goat specific questions (usually which freshening she is on) and they will probably feel the mammary and the skin, or put a hand on your goat and the next in line.
You do not need to know where thurls are or know how many points are awarded for dairy strength. Anatomy and scorecard questions are reserved for showmanship.
The judge will then line the goats up in order of place - maybe asking you to walk around again .
They go down the line and explain to each showman why their goat is placed compared to the one behind it.
A judge is comparing your goat to the ones next to it in line and based on a the score sheet, but your goat will not actually get a score. (for actual scores you need to contact a larger barn about joining them for a linear appraisal.)
The bigger barns will have multiple goats in each class, so you don’t have to be frantic about getting your next goat if your class is next. You have roughly 5 minutes between classes.
If you do not get 1st or 2nd place, then you are done and you can chill until your next class or the next ring is ready for your breed. If you do happen to get first or second place, then stick around because you will be called back into the ring at the end of your breed.
First place from each class will compete for Champion. There may be Junior and Senior Champions which then compete for Grand Champion. A Reserve Champion is chosen from the remaining first place winners plus the animal which placed second in its class behind the champion.
At this point the exhibitors of the winning animals bring them and their registration papers to the clerk’s desk. The judge reads each animal’s tattoos (in the ear or tail web) and checks to see that they are the same as those on the registration certificate.
They generally stop for a 30 minute lunch break after senior does are done. This means they’ve been milked out and brought back for best in show. They take a break before the next group.
Competing against some very seasoned barns in Ardmore!
It is Rinse and Repeat for each breed and its classes for the rest of the day!
That is it!
You are done. You can pack up, say goodbyes and head out! The venue will clean up your shavings for you.
Lessons We Learned at Our First Show
Reserve the extra stall for your crap
Make sure you have registrations in order at least two months before the show
Get your goats used to restraint and to being touched while restrained
Tattoo before you go (it is not fun and you have enough stress)
Shave a week before the show, don’t rush it
Remember dairy goat people are friendly, helpful and great mentors, so RELAX and HAVE FUN.
