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

Posted on August 3, 2016 by Swan View

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)

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Swan View

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

Posted on October 5, 2015 by Swan View

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

Posted on September 6, 2015 by Swan View

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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Prize Winners from Swan View Ranch: The Story of Hercules (A.K.A., “Gold Digger”)

Posted on August 17, 2015 by Swan View

Hercules was born one of twins on December 31, 2014 at Swan View Ranch, son of SVR1 Clint Eastwood and Rosiere’s 642 (Sophia).

Here he is at a month old.

Hercules at a month oldA very active “goat showing” family purchased Hercules in January and took him home March 27th, 2015.  They re-named him “Gold Digger” for his golden head!

Kolby practicing with Gold DiggerIn April, Gold Digger was shown at a goat show in Spanish Fork, Utah. Look how well Kolby stands him up! (Shown here at left.)

Every member of the family gets into the showing, and they all love Gold Digger. He’s not only a sweet goat, he seems to really enjoy being shown.

When he gets into the ring, something changes. He strolls around right in step with his master, his head held high. It’s as if he’s aware that he’s being watched, and he likes the admiration!

Here is Bayley, Kolby’s older sister, winning reserve Grand Champion with Gold Digger—the Judge is beside her (below).

Bayley & Judge at show in Spanish Fork, UtahAfter the Spanish Fork show, the family moved on to Weld County at the end of April. Gold Digger impressed them all again. Bayley won Senior Market Goat Champion Showman. Here she is with her winning plaque, below.

Bayley with Senior Showman PlaqueKolby won Junior Market Goat Champion Showman. Here he is with his winning plaque.

Kolby with Junior Showman PlaqueGold Digger sailed through many other shows taking various places as he moved on to his finest hour at the Mesa County Fair in July, 2015.

There, he took second place in his Market Goat Class—shown below with Brooklynne—which qualified him to compete for Reserve and Grand Champion Market Goat.

Brooklynne & Gold Digger
Gold Digger then went on to take Reserve Grand Champion Market Goat shown by Brooklynne (left), and “Lock Down” (another of the family’s goats) took Grand Champion Market Goat, shown by Bayley (right). The judge is standing in the middle.

Gold Digger & Lock DownWow these girls really know how to show a goat don’t they?

As I gave Brooklynne a hug and congratulated her, I noticed that she wasn’t even holding on to Gold Digger. He was just standing by her side, patiently waiting for her to take his collar and return him to the ring. I was amazed at how well trained he was!

Gold Digger wasn’t finished, though. He was called back to the line again for the Judge to choose Mesa County’s Finest. This prize is reserved for goats born and raised in Mesa County.

Can you guess what happened?

Gold Digger and Brooklynne took Grand Champion: Mesa County’s Finest!

Brooklynne & Gold Digger - Mesa Counties FinestSince he’s doing so well, this family is going to continue showing Gold Digger. He’s moving on to additional events—one in Montana in October.

Congratulations to this family for all their hard work. As you can see, goat showing is a family affair. These three kids—Bayley, Brooklynne and Kolby—spent hours with these goats. You can sure see the fruits of their labor in the way the goats look and handle.

It was an honor having them purchase and show one of our animals and a great pleasure witnessing all the action.

Congratulations again. We look forward to seeing what else Gold Digger has to share!

Congratulations Gold Digger!

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Prize Winners from Swan View Ranch: The Story of Todd

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Swan View

Todd was born one of a set of twins on December 30, 2014 at Swan View Ranch, son of SVR1 Clint Eastwood and SVR1 Sophia’s Elizabeth Taylor.

Here he is at a week old (right) with one of our other December babies.

Todd at one weekA family interested in showing wethers at the fair came and fell in love with him. They bought him in January and picked him up in March. Here’s his owner Taylor taking Todd home.

Taylor taking Todd homeTaylor’s whole family got involved in Todd’s training. They all put in many hours of work getting him ready for the show at the Mesa County Fair in July 2015.

He was beautiful all nicely trimmed as he and Taylor strolled around the ring. She had a great outfit too and really knew what she was doing. Isn’t she great at showing her animal?

Taylor showing ToddWhen the judging was finished, Todd took first place market goat in his class as well as third place in showmanship. Taylor was also able to show him in the Round Robin competition, too, where she did extremely well.

Not to be left out, Taylor’s little sister Oakley wanted to show Todd. Here she is in the Pee Wee Class.

Oakley showing ToddThen Taylor’s mom Abby also showed him in the Parent’s of the 4-H kids Class! (She’s in the center, below.) Suffice to say that Todd got his workout that day! The whole family was very proud of him.

Taylor's Mom Abby showing ToddThen came what is always the most difficult time, when the wethers have to be sold. Little kids don’t quite understand, and it can be a heart-wrenching separation.

Todd was extremely lucky, though. Instead of going for meat, as most wethers do, he had caught the eye of a family from Collbran, Colorado. They were looking for another pack goat, and they thought Todd would be perfect.

Todd is very proud!It was a great ending to a very successful day. Todd now goes from being an award-winning show goat to helping out his owners by packing supplies into the hills. We imagine he’ll do a great job, and they tell us he may be back to Mesa County next year to show off what he’s learned!

Taylor’s family didn’t want to say goodbye, but they were so happy that Todd would continue to have a nice life with humans who love him.

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