Goats were led around the arena all day Thursday at the 2008 Lawrence County Fair.

Jimmy Matney, a Scottown farmer, won market goat grand champion. Moriah Brock, a Getaway Go Getter, was market goat reserve champion.

Kayla Skaggs, a Clod Hopper, was the senior dairy goat

showman. Dustin Jackson, a Clod Hopper, won junior dairy goat showman. Jessica Keathley, a Barn Buster, won senior showman of market goats and Dylan Bishop, a Star Lite, won junior showman.

“My goat was really good. He went over some things I didn’t even think he was going to go over,” Jackson said. “I led him around in the yard, got him used to the leash. I had a rough time getting him used to the leash, but that is part of life. It takes time to get him ready.”

Skaggs said she invested a lot of time in her goat.

“I worked almost every week with her,” Skaggs said. “She is really easy to handle anyways. I walked her up and down the road every day.”

Matney said training a winning goat was easy for him.

“I just walked him and went to my 4-H meetings,” he said.

Brock said she knew why she won her title.

“My goat has a lot of meat and muscle in it,” Brock said. “We walked him a lot on hills, exercised it and always spent time with it.”

All of the winners lent some advice to future competitors.

“Make sure you have patience with the goats,” Skaggs said. “They might be bullheaded sometimes, but treat them as you would a natural human being with love and care.”

“Never drag your goat and smile,” Brock said.

“I get nervous when I first go in, but after awhile I calm down,” Keathley said. “You have to keep calm because the judges can see it.”

Bishop said he was successful with the goats because he studied his resource book over the past three years.

“Make sure you study your animal good,” Bishop said. “And, make sure you know people to help you with other animals.”

Keathley said she will be prepared for the showman of showmen.

“I will be working my butt off,” she said.

Skaggs and Jackson have been showing dairy goats for about four years. Brock has been showing goats for six years and Bishop has been showing goats for three years.