The 2018 ADGA National Dairy goat show was held in Columbus, Ohio this year, so we decided to attend. We’d never even been to 
an ADGA national show so it was certainly a learning experience!
We’ve never attended any shows that were longer than a day because I’m somewhat paranoid about leaving my goats in strange pens overnight. However, in order to attend the ADGA National show, it’s required that you leave them for the duration of the show. That meant that we had to leave them onsite at the show from June 23rd – 30th.
Fortunately, there are over 1,000 horse stalls at the Columbus fairgrounds that were used to house the goats. I was relieved that the stalls were solid on all sides so that there would be no contact between our goats and other goats at the show (always trying to practice biosecurity).
Bramblestone Farm Stalls at 2018 ADGA National Show
We were given stalls 393 and 394 in the Gilligan complex (the horse stall building) and we used one for the goats and one for our tack (milking stand, etc.). For goats, we brought 4*M Bramblestone Chai Tea 4*D, 3*M Buttin’Heads Calligraphy *D, 3*M Bramblestone Amethyst *D, 4*M Bramblestone Sun Tea 4*D, and Bramblestone Ostara Quinn. We brought all senior does and didn’t bring any junior does.
4*M Bramblestone Chai Tea 4*D
All goats were required to have a certificate of veterinary inspection and go through a veterinary check before being housed in the barns. Pine shavings and alfalfa were available for sale at the show but we brought our own water, straw, and alfalfa.
There were 654 Nigerian Dwarf goats preregistered for the show and 520 were actually judged. That meant that the classes were huge. Each of the senior doe classes contained from 60 – 70 does and judging took a long time. The Nigerians were judged by Joan Dean Rowe (DVM) with Mark Baden as a consultant.
3*M Bramblestone Amethyst *D
The judges narrowed down each class to their top 20 picks and then dismissed the rest of the does from the ring. They then placed the does in spots one through twenty in each class. The best we did was with Bramblestone Chai Tea who placed 14th in her class. The Grand Champion Senior doe was Woodbridge Farm Scarlet Rose and the Reserve Grand Champion was SGCH Old Mountain Farm Shy Elk.
4*M Bramblestone Sun Tea 4*D
We learned a lot about a National Show, how competitive it is, and how to prepare a goat for a show. We clipped our goats (with a #7 & #10 blade), shaved their udders, and trimmed their hooves. We saw most competitors were bathing their goats, clipping them (with a #10 blade all over), scrubbing their hooves, trimming their hooves, shaving their udders, painting their hooves, applying udder cream, and applying coat conditioner. I even saw one goat getting its teeth brushed!
Bramblestone Ostara Quinn
The senior Nigerian Show was Monday morning so we had the rest of the week to explore Columbus and watch the other dairy goat breed shows. We learned a lot and enjoyed Columbus – glad we decided to go! We also had pictures of the goats taken at the show and they turned out quite nice.
So cute! I never attended a show with goats! Love it!