CANFIELD—For livestock breeders, exhibiting at local fairs can be an important part of their business. Performing well in the show ring is the culmination of countless hours of training and preparation. When that show ring is at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (The Royal/RAWF) top placings can be considered the pinnacle of success, an achievement that Canfield teenager and goat farmer Morgan McGee experienced earlier this month.
Morgan raises Nubian goats and Recorded Grade (percentage-bred goats that are registered) dairy goats that she shows under the farm name Chippawa Creek Dairy Goats. She has been showing goats since 2017 when she joined the Niagara 4-H Goat Club.
Prior to this year’s Royal, she participated in 4-H and open goat shows at Paris, West Niagara, Binbrook, Ancaster, Caledonia, and Norfolk County fairs. Training the goats to show begins “the moment they are born.” Morgan says, “I work with the baby goats to gain their trust and make them friendly.”
—Submitted photo.
At about two months she trains them to walk with a dog leash and eventually leads them in just a collar.
Along with training, Morgan is responsible for daily chores.
According to Morgan’s mom, Deanna, this includes “getting up every single day at 5:15 a.m. to get her goats hand milked before school and every evening milking, feeding, and general care of them.”
At RAWF on November 4, Morgan participated in the Eastern National Dairy Goat Show for the first time. Highlights included two of her homebred does being awarded Junior Champion Recorded Grade, Senior Champion Recorded Grade, and Grand Champion Recorded Grade Doe. At the end of the show she had the honour of being named Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor for the Recorded Grades.
The next day Morgan followed up that success with more excitement in the Youth Goat Show that featured more than 50 participants. Placing first out of 20 competitors in the Intermediate Showmanship Class, she was invited back to the show ring for the showmanship final along with the other first and second place winners from each class.
—Submitted photo.
Morgan explains, “In the show ring you are asked to lead your goat in a circle so the judge can assess your goat on the move, then they will ask you to stop and set up your animal, so you must set their legs and place them squarely underneath the goat’s body.”
The youth must also be prepared to answer questions to show their knowledge of goats. When the judge had assessed all the showpeople, Morgan was thrilled to be named the Grand Champion Youth Showperson for 2023. She is already looking forward to returning to The Royal next year.
Looking back on her daughter’s success at The Royal, Deanna acknowledges Morgan’s hard work. She says, “It takes her days to prepare for shows by washing, clipping, trimming hooves of each goat. She spends her summers training her goats in preparation for the fall fairs. This girl has such a passion for them.”
That passion is evident as Morgan speaks of the bond she shares with her animals. She says, “I have known every single one of my goats since the moment they were born and while I train them I get to know their individual personalities. Having such a personal connection to the goats makes winning at The Royal so much more special as I know all the hard work and dedication it took to get there.”
