This is the first year 13-year-old Michael Lovell has shown a market goat, but he has experience showing other livestock and horses in 4-H.
“It was a very fun experience,” he said. “Goats do the silliest things and they make you laugh.”
His goat was a Boer goat. They are raised primarily for their meat. He’s saving the money he earns from selling his market livestock for college and a church mission. His parents are Josh and Jordelle Lovell of Ririe. Jordelle helped the kids practice showing their animals before the fair in the same arena they showed in at the fairgrounds.
“My sheep project went well. I like sheep a lot because they are easier to show than a steer,” Michael said. “You show sheep by holding their head. With a goat they have a collar and they seem to go wherever they want. My mom helps a lot and is a big part of all of this.”
Michael belongs to the Bonneville County 4-H Club led by Emily Frazier and Melissa Holm. He also shows horses in showmanship, horsemanship and in Western equitation where he took sixth out of 17 kids.
“That was a huge feat on a horse he just started riding this spring,” Jordell Lovell said. “He also started showing in the working ranch horse class and took home two third-place ribbons home for his team sorting classes.”
“As a family, we do a lot of stuff with horses,” Michael said. “My horse Jess is a chestnut quarter horse. We like to trail ride, and sometimes we help my aunt and uncle move cattle, too.”
Showing and preparing three projects this year — a horse, a goat and a sheep — took a lot of work and time, which takes dedication and lots of time and effort, Jordelle Lovell said.
“We stay at the barn all day and sometimes we don’t leave until 8 p.m. We work hard all summer, at least one hour a day, six days a week, then we increase that as the fair gets closer,” Michael said. “If you work at it you can win, but it’s good to remember to just have fun too, because if you think you’re always going to win, you’ll be disappointed.”
Competition is tough. In his intermediate division, he got a call back for his goat in showmanship and won fourth overall.
“From four heats of 15 showmen each, two or three are called back to show again in the final round,” Jordelle Lovell said. “Then, the official first, second and third places are picked. The top two grand and reserve grand champion showmen then go to the Round Robin competition held later that week, where the best of the best showmen are chosen by how well they can show all the large livestock at the fair. So as a first year goat showman to get fourth overall, we were thrilled!”
In his spare time, Michael likes to read, ride his bike and play computer games.
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