Sheep, goats make great showing at Youth Expo

Rachel Hasty poses with her prize-winning Boer goat before reentering the arena to compete in the showmanship class. Her goat was named the Supreme Champion Doe.
Rachel Hasty poses with her prize-winning Boer goat before reentering the arena to compete in the showmanship class. Her goat was named the Supreme Champion Doe.

AUXVASSE, Mo. - Between the bleating goats and baaing sheep, it was sheer - or perhaps shear - madness at the Callaway Youth Expo before Thursday's sheep and goat shows.

The competitors, however, kept their cool.

"When I was little, it was like 'Oh gosh,'" Rachel Hasty, a high school senior, said. "But now, you know what your job is and you know about what your animal is going to do."

She started showing poultry and other small animals when she was 8 and transitioned to goats about six years ago. This year, one of her Boer goats won Supreme Champion Doe, beating out the champion dairy goat.

"You see all your work and then it pays off," Hasty said.

The goats didn't always cooperate; some were flopping down in the arena and refused to brace properly; others planted their feet.

Bryli DeLashmutt, like most of those who showed goats, loves them anyway.

"They baa and they are so cute," she said. "Whenever I walk out the door, they talk to me."

It was her first year showing goats. Before the show, DeLashmutt, a third-grader, gave her goat a thorough brushing.

Goats were classed as either breeding, market or dairy goats. In each category, the judge looked for different qualities - for example, plenty of muscle among the market goats. These classes were also divided up into subcategories.

The pre-show prep for sheep is a little more elaborate.

"They shear them so the judge can see the muscles when they brace, and they leave the wool on the legs to make their bones look bigger," Lillie McKeller said.

A senior, it's her second year showing.

"I thought it would be a good experience just to get out and show and get to know the other competitors," she said.

Almost as important as the appearance of the animals themselves is the technique of the youth showing them. In fact, there's an entire showmanship category in the competition.

Poor positioning can make even a high-quality animal look under-developed and unbalanced.

"I kinda get nervous because sometimes the sheep act up," Natalie Shyrock, a fifth-grader, said. "You have to practice with them every day, sometimes twice a day."

Sheep classes included market sheep and bucket lambs.

Showing continues today with poultry and rabbits, market beef and bucket calves. The schedule of events can be found at bit.ly/2tS6mcj.