SVR Winners at Mesa County Fair: Part I

The Mesa County Fair in Grand Junction, Colorado,
was a BIG one for us this year!

That means TWO posts on this great event. Welcome to Part I.

Cooper was born January 24, 2016, son of SVR1 Pistol Packin Pete’s Ruger.

Cooper in February 2He was purchased by Wesley, who did a good job feeding him.

Unfortunately, Cooper was just one pound underweight at 49 pounds instead of 50. (Darn it!) So he had to show in the Feeder Market Goat Class.

Wesley taking second place w_Cooper 2This was a large class, but Wesley did very well and he and Cooper ended up taking 2nd place!

Congratulations to Wesley. Here he is with his second place ribbon.

Wesley w_Ribbon 2Next, Taylor came out to show her doe Lightening Bolt, daughter of SVR1 Sophia’s Clint Eastwood.

Judge giving Taylor & Bolt second 2She  took 2nd in the young doe class, then went on to take Reserve Grand Champion with her as well.

Reserve Grand Champion for Bolt & Taylor 2Coming back for Showmanship in her age group, Taylor took Grand Champion with Lightening Bolt, winning a beautiful ribbon and a belt buckle as well!

Taylor does a super job showing her animals as you can see from the pictures.

Grand Champion for Taylor & Bolt in Showmanship 2
Not to be outdone by her older sister, Oakley came out with a wether out of SVRl Sophia’s Clint Eastwood to show in the Pee Wee Class.

You can tell there is a real connection between those two even though the wether is bigger than the girl! Oakley really loves the goats and the feelings are mutual as you can see.

Oakley w_her wether 2Look for Oakley in a couple of years when she is old enough to show in the market goat classes.

Kolby took 2nd place with his young doe, Alley Cat, born December 26, 2016, daughter of KNR Radical Cat. She is a beautiful little paint with a great future ahead of her.

Grand Champion for Kolby & Alley Cat in Showmanship 2 Since Kolby loves the paints, Alley Cat was his pick of the young does from Swan View Ranch. Kolby is a great showman, spending hours with his animals, so it was no surprise that he took Grand Champion in his Showmanship Class.

Congratulations to all of these 4-H kids and good luck doing just as well next year!

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4H Beauties from Swan View Ranch: Tank

On August 10, 2016, we traveled to Hotchkiss, Colorado, for the Delta County Fair.

This time, we wanted to see how our wether, Tank, was going to do.

Tank in Gerald's lap 2Tank was a sweetheart from the day he was born on January 2, 2016, out of SVR1 Pistol Packin Pete’s Ruger. Here he is (above) in Gerald’s lap when he was a little over a month old.

He just loved getting the extra attention.

Tank was always a BIG boy (thus his name), but we were surprised when we saw him up in Hotchkiss.

There, under the care of Trey, we discovered that he weighed over 100 pounds—gaining over 50 pounds from his first weigh-in.

Trey did a good job showing him as you can see below. The two looked like real pros out there.

Trey leading Tank 2Here, Trey was holding Tank still so the Judge could check him out closely.

Tank w_Trey 2The classes were HUGE and the judge took a lot of time looking over each animal. In fact, the showmanship classes alone took almost two hours!

Tank didn’t place in his market goat class, but we still thought he was beautiful. Trey did a super job finishing him off, teaching him to lead, and trimming him up for the show.

The crowd got a little antsy wanting things to move along, but some of us in the audience were very comfortable and didn’t mind the long wait at all!

The audience 2We enjoyed the trip up and congratulate Trey on his accomplishment.

Win or lose, he performed an admirable show and we were so glad to be able to see it.

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Prize Winners from Swan View Ranch: H.R. & Ridge

Gunnison County 4-H 2We traveled to Gunnison, Colorado in July 2016 for the Gunnison County Cattlemen’s Days 4-H Show.  

We were eager to see Gage and Sam, the two young men who were showing the goats from our ranch: H.R. and Ridge, both out of KNR Radical Cat.

The boys came to the ranch a few months ago with their dad, Eric, looking for some wethers to buy.

They took their time choosing their favorites.

Sam, Eric & Gage picking out goats 2When they had selected H.R. and Ridge, they loaded them up and went on their way. Here they are ready to head back home.

Sam & Gage headed home w_wethers 2Months passed.

When we saw the wethers again in Gunnison, boy, were we ever surprised at how well these boys had finished them off!

H&R Block weighed 86 pounds and Ridge weighed 78 pounds. They both looked fantastic.

Gage & Sam did an excellent job teaching the kids to lead, and trimmed them up beautifully for show.

The facilities there in Gunnison and the show ring are outstanding. The goat show takes place in a beautiful building—all inside—with a large ring that allows ample space to show your animals.

The classes were medium in size and we were thrilled to see the boys take 3rd and 4th in the market goat class. They also took 3rd and 4th in the Intermediate Showmanship Class.

Then Gage took Reserve Grand Champion in the Market Goat Class as well. Here are the two boys with their ribbons, Gage on the left with H.R. and Sam on the right with Ridge. Aren’t they handsome?

Gage w_H&R & Sam w_Ridge 2Congratulations to two of the finest young gentlemen we have ever met!

After meeting their parents, Stacy and Eric, we could see why the boys are as fantastic as they are.

Stacy & Eric 2Mom and Dad were kind enough to let us get this great picture with the boys. From left to right: Gerald, Gage, Mary, and Sam. And of course, H.R. and Ridge.

Gunnison Cattlemen's Days 2Both boys are also in Boy Scouts with Gage working towards his Eagle Scout Award.

President Gerald R. Ford said that the Eagle Scout Award was the most prestigious award he had ever received. There is a statue of him in his museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his scout uniform and his Eagle Scout Award.

We wish Gage luck in achieving his goal, and hope to see both boys next year around fair time!

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Prize Winners from Swan View Ranch: The Story of Figgy Puddin’ (Rosie)

Figgy Puddin’ was born one of a set of twins on
December 25, 2015 at Swan View Ranch.

Figgy Puddin' 2She is the daughter of SVR1 Banana Puddin’ and KNR Radical Cat.

Here she is at 3 weeks old.

Figgy 2
She was purchased by a family in Jensen, Utah.
Their little girl, Alexis, wanted her to show at the Unitah Fair.

Below, Alexis’s Dad puts Figgy into their trailer.
You can see how big she was already—quite the armful!

Alexis's Dad putting Figgy in Trailer 2When he got Figgy home, Alexis re-named her “Rosie.”

Alexis put hours of work into Rosie to get her ready for the show.
Here she is combing Rosie.

Alexis combing Rosie 3The Unitah Fair was held on June 6, 2016.

Alexis and Rosie took GRAND CHAMPION!

Pictured below are Alexis and her family with Rosie.

Congratulations to Alexis for doing such a super job showing Rosie.

Just look at that beautiful trim job!

Alexis & Family w_Rosie 2

 

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New Arrivals at Swan View Ranch

Swan View Ranch has three new youngsters.

KNR Hoosier Hunk 006The first to arrive in August this year, is an outstanding young buck purchased from Kickin’ A Ranch.

He comes to us with many ennobled animals in his background and shows a lot of promise for future breeding.

His name is KNR Hoosier Hunk and he was born April 6, 2015.

He didn’t take long at all to fit right in here at the ranch. Everyone loves his sweet and curious personality. He’s on his own right now in a pen, but boy was he wishing he could be out with the does at breeding season. This is one young boy that can’t wait to turn on the charm.

We are really looking forward to using this young buck next year.

The second is a young doe arriving here at the ranch in September.

She has some excellent breeding consisting of many ennobled animals coming out of Rocking C Boer Goats in Jewett, Illinois.

CMB Alexis NickieHer name is CMB Alexis Nickie and she was born December 16, 2014 at Cedar Mesa Boers in Cedaredge.

Talk about sweet, this little girl would rather be petted than eat. We had a hard time pushing her away long enough to get a picture of her!

Nickie’s breeding is completely different from anything we have here at Swan View Ranch, so we are really looking forward to what she will do for us next year.

The third is another young doe arriving here at the ranch in September.

She has some excellent breeding from the Strategic line coming from Cedar Mesa Boers in Cedaredge, Colorado.

Cedar Mesa Boers MaybellIMG_1865Her name is Cedar Mesa Boers Maybell and she was born March 12, 2015.

We have been very happy with some other does that have the Strategic line in their background, so we are looking forward to seeing what Maybell will do in another year.

These three new arrivals are very young and will not be producing until the 2016-17 season. Look for more news on them at that time.

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Prize Winners from Swan View Ranch: The Story of Nelson

Nelson was born one of a set of twins on December 27, 2014 at Swan View Ranch, son of SVR1 Clint Eastwood and K1K2 Aaprina Acres Ju Ju B.

Here he is at a week old.

Here is Nelson at a week oldNelson was such a pretty boy that we had thoughts of keeping him a buck. Here he is at three weeks with his sister Nala.

Nelson w_Nala his sisterThen we got a call from a young man living in Hotchkiss, Colorado, who needed a 4-H goat to show in the Delta County Fair.

So we told him about Nelson.

Trey wanted him, so Nelson became a 4-H wether! Here are the two on their first day of meeting one another.

Trey taking Nelson to the truck
Gerald and I really looked forward to attending the Delta County Fair Goat Show and were delighted to find out that it was on a Wednesday—Gerald’s only day off work!

We would be able to go and enjoy it.

But then, as fate would have it, I was selected to serve on a jury. (What are the odds?) It was supposed to last for four days, which would have made it impossible for me to see Trey show Nelson at the fair.

I was terribly disappointed. I had so looked forward to this fair for 5 months!

Luck was on my side, though. Believe it or not, we finished with the case Wednesday at noon. Who’s ever heard of a jury wrapping up early? But so it happened, lucky for me.

I made the goat show in Hotchkiss just in time. I didn’t even miss one class as the goat judge was late coming from Denver. I can’t believe how things worked out. I was delighted to join Gerald along with Trey and his family to take part in the happy occasion.

Nelson weighed 109 pounds and was absolutely beautiful. Trey gave him a super trim job as you can see when he and Trey enter the show ring for the showmanship class.

Trey enters the show ring with NelsonThe class was so huge that they had to judge it in two waves. Trey placed in the top four in the first wave, so he and Nelson waited in a holding pen for the second wave to show their animals—22 kids and animals in all in this class of showmanship.

Trey & Nelson in holding penAfter the second wave had been judged, another five goats and kids were selected. Upon completion of the judging, Trey and Nelson placed 7th, which was exceptional in such a large class for a young man showing a goat for the first time!

On to the Market Goat class, where Nelson placed 4th in his class. Beautiful isn’t he? And look at how GREAT Trey is doing with him. Keep in mind here that the goat weighs MORE than the boy!

Trey showing NelsonProud as he can be—Trey stands with Nelson and his 4th place ribbon.

Trey & Nelson with 4th place ribbonCongratulations Trey.  You did a super job! So very glad we got to take part in it with you!

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