Back takes grand championship in market goat show; Ball named reserve champion

 

ROME TOWNSHIP — Dylan Back, of the Farm Hands 4-H club, and his grand champion market goat literally out-muscled the competition on Monday night at the Lawrence County Fair.

“Really a goat that looked the part,” judges said as they announced the winner. “Probably one of the more well-muscled goats we’ve seen in a while.”

The goat’s muscle definition was crafted with a steady diet and a vigorous workout routine.

“I just really worked hard with him,” Back said. “I was always feeding him, making sure that he always had food. We had a good exercise routine where I would run him every single morning and every single evening.”

Reserve champion Karsyn Ball gave Back’s goat a challenge but in the end, the judges said the Starlite 4-H member needed just a little more weight on her goat.

“I feel good about being reserve champion,” Ball said. “I’m going to try again next year. I just want to thank the judges. The competition was stiff.”

Back’s championship came in his second year in competition and he says he used the things he learned the year before to improve.

“I didn’t do very good last year,” Back said. “But I learned a lot last year and I used all of those things I learned to get better.”