Rutfest 2009, Williston Florida was FUN!

2  years ago I got a buck. He was 10 days old when i went to pick him up in North Florida. April 18, he turned 2 years old. And this past weekend we took him to Rutfest. We went last year, but that isn't much of a determinating age to see if he's GOT the stuff to make a good buck. This year i think we can safely say he's doing good. No, we didn't win. Yes, he was the most obnoxious goat there. But I got to see what the best of Florida has to offer. Where he sits on that spectrum. And if he's going to be a permanent addition here. Of course, there are other factors, like Linear Appraisal coming up in September, for him and his daughters. But, at least leaving Rutfest this weekend I felt a bit more confident in his "goods".

There are things that I don't like. Things i don't think are great. And things that are just woohoo!

His body capacity is awesome. His chest and barrel are outrageous. Nice solid neck. pretty face. He's wide in the front leg. Nice head. Great straight back. Nose is nice. I like his face. His hocks and pasterns are nice.

Things that i'm not sure about is his height for his age. He toes out a bit more than others. And they tend to splay a bit.  His rump angulates a bit more than what I saw. And wasn't as wide as he could be. His ears are tooo short. His hock to pastern is more angular than the others. His feet are bigger. And he's a nightmare to handle around other bucks.

Here is a picture of the Buck in his class that came in first. Then went on to win Best in Breed. And then Best in Show for Ring One and Ring Three. Meaning he beat out 119 other goats to be the best goat in that show.

He really was amazing to look at. And towers over all the other goats. Look at the barrel. His chest. His hocks. The angulation of his hip to tail. His pin bones. Nice tight toes.  His face and nose. His ears. Overall, such a wonderful goat. It's no wonder that he won. I remember this goat from last year. He won the class too!

Now this goat was in a different class, he's older. He's won all kinds of shows. And he finished off his Grand Champion legs this week. Beautiful all around.

The reasons that i really like Noble are mentioned above but more importantly he's only half the equation. What is good will reproduce, as well as bad. The bad on Noble isn't all that "bad". And really its what you breed to, to compensate certain issues. My oreo she has the longest ears. Awesome. Couple that with nobles ears they will surely hang below standard. SHE IS TALL. She will help compensate for his short stature. SHE IS straight in the hock to pastern. and so on... what my goals to be are to see now how he improved on Delilah and Oreo. Their daughters are hopefully going to start showing in the future and as they grow will learn more on what works what doesn't. What FUN!!! I'm hooked. Not so much the showing. I could take that or leave it. Being in the ring does nothing for me. BUT this, this looking and learning and analyzing the photos are the best part.



Here is the group of them -- 2 to 3 year old class. Noble placed 4th in ring one. 4th in Ring two. And 3rd in ring 3. Picture above is Ring 3. Each ring is a separate and sanctioned show. Its just that they mash them all together in one day. As i see now, why no one wants to have lots of buck shows. They are a pain in the arse. Peeing and stomping and stinking all day long.

Studying these photos i can also see why Noble was 3rd. Goat 2 is just more angular. More angle and tight in the shoulder. Withers tighter.  Nicer head. Longer elegant neck. Straighter hock to pasterns. Ears much nicer. Another awesome goat.

I'm not knocking my Noble. I'm excited to learn the different aspects of what makes a great goat. And who knows how "dairy" these boys are. I know my Nobles dam is 8* milker. Has the highest lactation than 98% of all goats in this state. And so on. There is so much more to just this.

I really enjoyed going this year. You can learn so much in such a short time. And its not an end all be all if you don't win. Its more of a learning experience, I would have never understood these conformational discussions without all this hands on. And I can't wait to try it again next year. Even if Noble was the worst behaved of them all.

I have more photos of the WHOLE day up on this site link. Take a look. click here.