Phil and I spent the weekend in Greeley at the Weld County Goat Extravaganza where we set up a packgoat information display and did an hour-long presentation. We took Cuzco, Pac-Man, Finn, and Sputnik and we had a great time! Phil says my presentation went well. I did the talk while he managed the four goats we had in the ring. It was fun having several goats so I could show examples of what to look for (and not look for) in conformation and attitude. I also had three different types of saddles set up for people to look at and there was plenty of time for questions.

Unfortunately, we did not get as much traffic as we usually do and thus I was not able to hand out as many cards and flyers. The Extravaganza was so large and crowded this year that we ended up getting put in a back corner of the barn where there would be room to set up our display. Last year we had a main corridor. We also ran another “Goat of Many Colors” contest, but that had a smaller turnout than the last two, probably because of our inconspicuous location. Oh well. We did get about a dozen entries (including my four), so we had enough to make a fun little “parade of color” on Sunday. The winner was a little Nubian doeling named “Cookies ‘n’ Cream” owned by Sara Warren.

Cuzco was a big hit as usual. Everyone was very impressed when I told them he is 13 years old. He looks amazing for his age. Cuzco loves these events where he gets to be the center of attention. He was genial all weekend, and never even growled at the folks who disregarded his “Admire me from a distance” sign. Every time I took him out of his stall, he strutted along proud and lordly, stepping out with his long, bold strides and his head held high. It’s a privilege to have a goat like him who makes it easy to point out good packgoat conformation, and who follows commands perfectly when he’s in the spotlight.

Pac-Man took over the cart pulling this year and did an excellent job. He was much better behaved this weekend than he was at the Easter festival a few weeks ago. This goat is already learning what it means to have a job. I was hoping to do more cart rides than we did, but it rained on Sunday and there wasn’t enough room in the barn to do the rides indoors like we did last year. So we did the rides outside on Saturday only, which meant we didn’t get many customers, but the ones who did ride were enamored. I love the smile on this kid’s face. 

That same kid wanted to ride again with his friend, and he would not stop honking the horn! I had to tell him to lay off before he drove me and Pac-Man both crazy. I told him to wait until there was a car or some pedestrians to honk at. 

All in all it was a fun weekend. Cuzco wishes we could do this every weekend, and Sputnik might be happy with that too as long as he gets his own stall next to Cuzco again (yes, I had to separate him from the others after I found Finn and Pac-Man using him for a ping-pong ball). Finn and Pac-Man were getting stir crazy in that little stall and Finn kept jumping out by the last day. I had to tie him to the back wall where he looked very forlorn. Pac-Man even started trying to heave his fat belly over the gate toward the end of the last day. But while they didn’t like being penned up, they loved the hustle and bustle and all the attention. It was a good experience for everyone.