This editorial comment is submitted to foster discussion, not dissention. It represents the opinion of the editor and is not to be construed as the position or objective of any official of any registry organization. Address all comments to *and* to your favorite registry, either ABGA Executive Director or International BGA.

Open letter to the Show Committee of the International Boer Goat Association, Inc. and the Show Committee of the American Boer Goat Association. Please... Give your members who wish to compete in dual-sanctioned shows a standard format! (Note... Exhibitors are your members - where have I read that before?). It is long past time for the International BGA and the American BGA to come together and agree on a standard format for shows. Here are the current formats... International Junior Champion (0 through 11 months old) Yearling Champion (12 through 23 months old) Senior Champion (24 or over months old) Overall Champion (Junior vs. Yearling vs. Senior) American Junior Champion (0 through 11 months old) Senior Champion (12 or over months old) Overall Champion (Junior vs. Senior) I can hear the respective show committees now, "Not a big deal!" "WRONG!!!!!!" The show goes something like this... class 1 - 0-2 months class 2 - 3-5 months class 3 - 6-8 months class 4 - 9-11 months class 5 - Junior Champion (1st place goats from class 1, 2, 3, 4) class 6 - Junior Reserve (non-winners of class 5 + 2nd place goat of class that champion came from) class 7 - 12-17 months class 8 - 18-23 months class 9 Int'l - Yearling Champion ( 1st place goats from class 7, 8) class 10 Int'l - Yearling Reserve (non-winner of class 9 + 2nd place goat of class that champion came from) class 11 - 24-35 months class 12 - 36-47 months class 13 - 48 + months class 14 Int'l - Senior Champion (1st place goats from class 11, 12, 13) class 15 Int'l - Senior Reserve (non-winners of class 14 + 2nd place goat of class that champion came from) class 16 ABGA - Senior Champion (1st place goats from class 7, 8, 11, 12, 13) class 17 ABGA - Senior Reserve (non-winners of class 16 + 2nd place goat of class that champion came from) it hasn't gotten sticky yet; watch... class 18 Int'l - Overall Champion (winners of class 5, 9, 14) class 19 Int'l - Overall Reserve (non-winners of class 18 + Reserve from division that champion came from) class 20 ABGA - Overall Champion (winners of class 5,16) class 21 ABGA - Overall Reserve (non-winner of class 20 + Reserve from division that champion came from) Which really doesn't look all that bad. But did you notice what I did? In a single show there are two Senior Champions, possibly different goats, and there are two Overall Champions, possibly different goats. If that doesn't confuse you enough consider this... the Overall Champion could have conceivably been beaten by one of the division Reserve Champions earlier in the show. Pretend for a moment that you are one of your office personnel answering the phone. (Note... Exhibitors are your members - where have I read that before?): Caller: "How many points did my goat earn at the qwerty show?" You answer: "She was Senior Reserve Champion. She gets umptyump points" Caller: "But my fitter said she was named Senior *Grand* Champion, not *Reserve*." Answer: "She was Senior *Reserve* Champion as far as *this* registry is concerned. I have no idea what that *other* registry did with her." Here's one way to go about your explaining... Tell the inquirer that at the end of the class competition the 30 month old doe who won her class... competed for the senior championship against the 36-48 month and 48+ month old first place class winners. She was named the Champion Senior Doe. Then she competed against the 12-24 month champion and the 36-48 month and 48+ month old first place class winners. She was named Reserve Champion Senior Doe. Then she competed for overall champion. Since she was a champion senior doe she should go in the champion line but because she was a reserve senior doe she should go in the reserve line... so she was either put in with the champions where she competed with the 0-12 month champion the 12-24 month champion (who she had already lost to) or she was put in with the reserves where she competed with the 0-12 month reserve the 12-24 month reserve (who she had won over) the 24+ reserve (who she had won over) Does this spaghetti bowl "logic" give you a headache like it does me? Now... Imagine yourself as a judge trying to figure out what to do with a goat in the reserve line you know damn well you proclaimed to be champion five minutes ago. The exhibitors don't care which way shows are formatted. The show secretaries don't care which way shows are formatted. The judges don't care which way shows are formatted. Hell, even us reporters don't care which way shows are formatted. Please... Give your members who wish to compete in dual-sanctioned shows a standard format! (Note... Exhibitors are your members - where have I read that before?). Get down to basics... Each registry specifies that a doe 24 months old or over must have delivered kids or show obvious signs of pregnancy or be certified pregnant Seems to me that seniors are those does 24 months old or over that have natural born progeny or are pregnant. Juniors are those does that are not 24 months old. But, "No!"... someone had the hairy idea that they wanted to honor those animals at the top of the "junior" group with their own championship. In these "politically correct" times it must give everyone the warm fuzzies to have an extra championship in each show. Or maybe the idea was to insure that the "poor little baby kids" didn't have to compete against those big, mean ol' grown up 23 month olds. Well, more and more I see judges selecting an outstanding "poor little baby kid" over the older goat anyway. Have faith in your judges! They know a good goat when they see it - regardless of age (unless they are judges from another country placing goats by a breed standard that they aren't used to - but that's a subject for a different editorial). This sandbox is only so big. If y'all can't play nice on this show thing someone might come along and offer a more well manicured sandbox. Some of us "old timers" remember the first time the sandbox became a battleground. It created two separate registries (ABGA; International) and fractured the fabric of the Boer goat show industry. That injury took a long time to mend. The second time it sprained the Boer goat show industry by creating yet a third registry (ABGA; International; USBGA) but, with the help of strong leadership on all sides, we're getting better. The next time it happens might herald a new Boer goat show industry that is not specific to any registry. Boergoats.com will provide support to and, if necessary, leadership of such an undertaking if it becomes apparent that it is required for the health of the industry. Please... Give your members who wish to compete in dual-sanctioned shows a standard format! (Note... Exhibitors are your members - where have I read that before?). Keith Smith, Editor and Publisher, www.boergoats.com This editorial comment is submitted to foster discussion, not dissention. It represents the opinion of the editor and is not to be construed as the position or objective of any official of any registry organization. Address all comments to *and* to your favorite registry, either ABGA Executive Director or International BGA.