The Eagle County Fair took place in Eagle, Colorado, on July 25,2019.
I was super excited to attend as I had never been to this particular fair. For Gerald, it involved a fun trip down memory lane, since he used to show his animals at this same fair back in the 1960’s!
As we got off the exit at Eagle, we spotted the nifty looking Eagle Diner, so we stopped there for some lunch. It was such a neat little diner and the food was delicious, plus we enjoyed this piece of wisdom written on the sign near the entrance.
Eagle Diner.
Chalkboard in entryway of Eagle Diner.
Then down the road we went to the fair grounds. It was fun to watch Gerald’s eyes pop when he saw their beautiful new Event Center where all the shows are held. Quite a change from when he used to show!
Entryway of the Eagle River Center.
The entire goat show was inside the building, so the rain or heat didn’t bother any of the people or the animals. Just pure comfort for all.
Show ring inside the Eagle River Center.
We found our 4-H customers and they took us over to see their beautiful animals. They had taken excellent care of them all, we could see. They had really grown! Plus they were groomed to perfection and ready to show.
The first class was Senior Showmanship. Here are Jacob in the purple shirt with The Duke (a.k.a Ju Ju) following Hannah with Scout, both on the back side of the ring in this photo.
Look at The Duke (Ju Ju) prancing along with his head held high. Is he THE DUKE ready to ride off into a western movie or is he JU JU the famous wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers ready to run the football field for a touchdown?
We thought both were fitting!
Jacob in purple with The Duke (a.k.a. Ju Ju), and Hannah in front with Scout.
The Junior Showmanship included Lizzy with her goat San Antonio and Isaac with his goat Won Ton. San Antonio was not being very cooperative. We wanted to give him a good buzz in the butt! But he’s not the rearing outlaw here in the front. Lizzy is at the back of the ring.
Isaac with Won Ton (front left) and Lizzy in the back behind him with San Antonio.
The first Market Goat Class was quite large. These were goats weighing from 58 to 65 pounds. Isaac entered with Won Ton, Hannah with Scout, and their brother Jacob with Isaac’s other goat, Steamed Rice.
Isaac (left) with Won Ton, Hannah (center) with Scout, and Jacob (right) with Steamed Rice.
The Judge pulled Isaac out of the line up and asked him to stand to the side all by himself. It looked like he was wondering what he had done to deserve that!
Isaac wondering, “What happened?”
Next, the judge pulled Hannah aside, then one of the other competitors, and then Jacob, and then on down the line.
L to R: Isaac and Won Ton, Hannah and Scout, another competitor, and Jacob in purple with Steamed Rice.
As you can see from the picture above, Isaac—who by the way is in his FIRST year of showing goats—took 1st place with Won Ton!
Isaac: “Hey, I WON!”
Hannah took 2nd place with Scout and Isaac’s other goat Steamed Rice (with Jacob) came in 4th.
Isaac and Won Ton with 1st place , Hannah and Scout with 2nd place.
Jacob with Isaac’s other goat, Steamed Rice: 4th place.
That was quite an accomplishment for a first year, Isaac! Congratulations and keep up the good work. Congratulations to Hannah as well for her 2nd place, and thank you to Jacob for stepping in to help little brother!
The Middleweight Market Goats class was next with goats weighing from 67 to 73 pounds. Hannah was in this class with Honey and Jacob with Harden.
Jacob with Harden (far left) and Hannah with Honey (middle).
Jacob came in 3rd with Harden and Hannah came in 6th with Honey.
Jacob showing Harden.
Jacob and Harden with 3rd-place ribbon.
The final Market Goat Class included goats from 89 to 100 pounds. Jacob was in this class with The Duke (Ju Ju) and Lizzy with San Antonio.
Jacob with The Duke (Ju Ju).
Lizzy (center) showing San Antonio.
Jacob in line (second from right) with The Duke (Ju Ju).
After some deliberation and moving goats around, the Judge gave Jacob and his goat The Duke (Ju Ju) first place. Way to go Jacob.
Jacob & The Duke (Ju Ju) moved to first place.
That goat is a real beauty!
Jacob and The Duke (Ju Ju) with the 1st-place ribbon.
Lizzy’s goat was very uncooperative but even with that, she placed 5th in this highly competitive class. Congratulations to you too, Lizzy. Not too many kids would have been as patient as you were with that bratty goat!
Moving on to the Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion Class. Only 8 goats qualified to compete. Three of those had come from Swan View Ranch, now owned and shown by the same family, which says a great deal for the fine care those goats received after they left our ranch.
Grand Champion lineup with Jacob (left purple), Isaac (near-right black), and Hannah to the right of Isaac.
Gerald and I both commented on what fine young people these four kids are and after getting to know their parents, we could certainly see why. As they say—the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
Great family! L-R: Lizzy, Jacob, Hannah, Mom, and Dad, with Isaac in front.
