This afternoon we were a host herd for linear appraisal (LA). If you aren’t familiar with the LA program from ADGA, you can read about it here. This was our second time to do LA and we had one other herd trailer to our farm to participate. Here are the results:
Goat
DOB
Score
CH(pending) Majenli LK Carolina
2/20/2021
EEEV90
Sawfish QS Ferrari
3/16/2023
EEVV89
Sawfish AS Porsche
2/18/2023
VEVV88
Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili
3/12/2022
VVVV87
We are absolutely thrilled with our results and extremely excited about Carolina hitting 90 and Ferrari’s score as a first freshening 2 year old. This program is a great asset to helping with breeding plans and affirmation that our breeding program is doing what we want.
Another exhausting but amazing 4 days at the Big E has come and gone. With Quinn aged-out of 4-H, Amanda is the only youth left showing goats. Adding to the madness, I (Rob) returned from a work trip at 1130 on Thursday and we (Rob and Amanda) headed up to the Big E at 1 that afternoon. The Eastern States Exposition (aka Big E) is the defacto New England State Fair and this dairy goat show is the culmination of the show season for youth from the 6 New England states. I am part of the show committee assisting with the planning and execution as well as chaperone for some of the youth male participants.
Amanda took 6 goats to show in the youth show, but only 1 milker. Porsche is Amanda’s milker and showmanship goat because Amanda loves her, but Porsche hates her job. She is hard to clip and kicks HARD when you try to do anything to her back legs. Porsche also hates when the judge tries to touch her. Friday included the fitting and showmanship competitions where Amanda was in the 2nd oldest group of 13 youth; she placed 6th in both fitting and showmanship.
Sawfish AS Porsche – Best of Breed
On Saturday, the breed classes were judged. This is a youth show and most breeds don’t have a lot of competition, although lamanchas are starting to become more popular. Of note, we get to see CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina’s 2023 daughter and granddaughter who are in Maine at this show each year. Sawfish AS Porsche took Champion and Best of Breed Lamancha in the senior show and then Sawfish Bon Bon took Junior Champion Lamancha where Amanda had 4 of the 5 in the lineup.
As always, it was a busy weekend and Amanda ran out of gas at times. But a quick nap ringside gave her enough of a recharge to keep going. Since Amanda no longer has Quinn to hang out with, she spent more time with the other exhibitors and started building the stronger friendships this event is famous for.
Best Sr Doe in Show lineupSleeping AmandaLamancha Jr Champion Line upAmanda and Lexi collaborating during skill a thonAwards
After the youth show ended on Saturday, some of the goats left and others started moving in. Rob headed home for the night to get more goats and Amanda slept in the barn with other exhibitors. The quick turnaround at home had me back in Springfield by 7 am Sunday with our pens loaded up with most of our herd. Anna didn’t join the showing because she now has a job and had to work (but that’s a different story).
Sawfish AS Porsche took first in her age group, but didn’t win overall. CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina was 2nd in the Champion Challenge/Best of Breed lineup.
The real magic happened in the junior Lamancha show. There were 13 junior Lamanchas representing 7 different herds. When we got to the champion lineup for junior Lamanchas, the Sawfish herd had 3 of the 4 first place goats and Sawfish Bon Bon was chosen as Junior Champion out of the youngest age group. This earned her restricted leg. Of note, her aunt, Sawfish QS Mina, did the same thing at this show last year.
Sawfish Bon Bon – 2025 Big E2025 Big E Best Jr Doe in Show lineup
While Fox’s Pride took the Best Junior Doe in Show award with a very nice Nubian (even if it does have long ears). Bon Bon got a lot of looks from the judge before it was said and done. In the end, Amanda won Premier Lamancha Breeder and Premier Lamancha Junior Exhibitor.
Since we were at a nice venue and had the girls out, we took some updated pictures to share. That concludes our show season and we are excited to get started with breeding. Stay tuned for the release of our breeding plans.
Sawfish Bon Bon – 2025 Big ESawfish Tiramisu – 2025 Big ESawfish Apple Fritter – 2025 Big ESawfish Creme Brulee – 2025 Big ESawfish Kipu – 2025 Big ESawfish QS Mina – 2025 Big ESawfish Chrysi – 2025 Big ECH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina – 2025 Big ESawfish AS Porsche – 2025 Big E
Another weekend, another goat show. Today, (9/1/25) we went to the Blandford, MA Fair. We attended last year for the first time. While this show is a 2 hr drive away, it is sanctioned and it’s nice to see a few different herds than some of our other shows. Here are our results under judge Ed Cavanagh: Best of Breed Sr Lamancha – CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina Reserve Champion Sr Lamancha – Sawfish AS Porsche Champion Jr Lamancha – Sawfish Chrysi Reserve Jr Champion Jr Lamancha – Sawfish Apple Fritter Champion Record Grade – Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili Reserve Champion Jr Record Grade – Sawfish Kipu
Amanda was able to get some practice in for showmanship before the Big E and took 2nd of 10 in her class. Our friend Terrell came along to help out and spend the day visiting. Overall, it was a long day but the weather was great and we had fun.
Bling! Bling!Amanda with Sawfish AS PorscheAmanda with Sawfish AS Porsche Amanda with Sawfish AS Porsche and Anna with Sawfish ChrysiAmanda with Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot ChiliLucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili (2025)Rob with CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina in Best Sr Doe in Show lineupRob with CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina Rob with CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina Rob with CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina Sawfish Chrysi in Best Jr Doe in Show lineupRob with Sawfish KipuAnna and Terrell hanging outBest of Breed and Champion Jr Lamancha prizes
This afternoon we were a host herd for linear appraisal (LA). If you aren’t familiar with the LA program from ADGA, you can read about it here. This was our first time to do LA and we had 3 other herds trailer to our farm to participate. Here are the results:
Sawfish Lamanchas attended the North Country Showcase 2024 ADGA show at the Deerfield NH Fairgrounds. Temperatures were over 90F in CT when we hit the road on Friday afternoon. We hit a little traffic on the way there but the goats traveled fine and in under 3 hours were arrived to temperatures in the mid 70s. We had coordinated with our friends at Blue Hill Too and arrived all at the same time to camp next to each other. It didn’t take long to get the pens set up and covered with a canopy, tack area set, and travel trailer rigged out. It was nice to be ready to eat dinner at 6 and not be stressed through the evening. We took 5 milkers, 2 dry yearlings, and 6 kids for a total of 13 goats.
Trailer and pen setupMilking parlorBaby goat pensBlue Hill Too’s pens with floppy ears
This show was a “6 ring show” which means we showed the goats under 3 judges Saturday (Ed Cavanaugh, Anna Thompson Hajdik, and Emily Thompson) followed by 3 different judges on Sunday (Barb Norcross, Todd Biddle, and Joanne Karohl). There were over 400 goats there and it was great to see the quality from New England.
We had a great weekend, but I’ll spare the expense and say CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina’s 2x Champion, 1x Reserve, and 1x Best of Breed was the highlight of the event.
CH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina
Sawfish AS Porsche is Amanda’s milking yearling and the first udder we have freshened from E.B. Farms LL Regal. We are definitely pleased with the improvements we see over her dam, Sawfish Camellia. Tulsi and Jasmine were also in attendance. Tulsi is such a sweet, chill goat.
E.B. Farms Sunstone TulsiSawfish AS PorscheSawfish AS PorscheSawfish Jasmine
Chili and her daughter Kipu are Recorded Grade due to a DNA exclusion. We were pleased with Chili’s placings throughout the weekend and look forward to her continuing to mature.
Lucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot ChiliLucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot ChiliLucky 4-Leaf E Red Hot Chili
This year’s kid crop placed about as we expected. We didn’t come away with any big wins, but we got valuable feedback on the strengths of various bloodlines relative to others in the area. Unfortunately, we were too busy shuffling goats to get a lot of junior pictures.
Baby goats learning how to stand on a show stringBaby goats learning how to stand on a show stringSawfish QS MaltaSawfish QS BaliSawfish TahitiSawfish AS TeslaSawfish QS Ferrari
Overall, we learned a lot and were very pleased to see Carolina get the wins we knew she was capable of.
CH (pending) Majenli LK CarolinaCH (pending) Majenli LK Carolina’s ribbons for the weekend