Jennifer: Peyton Bell is outstanding.
She’s dedicated; she’s hard-working; and
she just has the brightest personality.
Ashley: That’s what the judges always comment
about her.
They were like, you know, I didn’t, I didn’t
see you ’til you smiled.
And she, and when she smiles, she, she has
your attention.
Henry: Everybody at the show loves her, and
they cheer for her, and, and when she wins,
everybody’s cheering, so they’re very
proud of her.
Deidra: I enjoy seeing these kids grow into
this and getting at the front of that line.
It takes initiative: you have to want it.
And she’s wanted it from day one.
Peyton (girl): They ask me what do I do.
I tell them that I was showing goats.
And most people think I roped them, but I
tell them that I groom them and walk them
and position them.
And I enjoy being their friend.
Deidra: I raise and show dairy goats.
And, whenever I met them, they were ready
to raise and show dairy goats.
Peyton’s grandfather come to me and talked
to me about getting his granddaughter into
agriculture, and I told him, “Let’s do
it.”
You know, it’s nothing to it but to do it.
Deidra: And she’s done really well with
that.
Henry: Once I bought the goat, her and her
dad decided they wanted to show the goat.
And I said, “Show the goat?
I don’t know.”
And she said, “Well, I, I’d like to show
him, Granddaddy.”
I said, “Well, okay.
We’ll see about it.”
And. of course, we went to the 4-H people
and found that they do show goats.
Deidra: And then we always have to know all
the parts to the goat, from the muzzle to
the tail.
Every part.
Henry: I said, “Get in with Miss Deidra.”
And Miss Deidra worked with her on showing
and the procedure and methods of showing.
My granddaughter, she, she’s very sharp.
She learns very, very well.
And, uh, we try to teach her the right way
and try to teach her to do it the right way
every time.
Deidra: Now you want to put this front leg
straight down, make it straight down.
Peyton (girl): Miss Deidra, she showed me
how to clip them; she showed me how to wash
them; she showed me how to maneuver them around
this.
Deidra: That’s right.
Give me a high five!
That’s good.
Peyton (girl): When I prepare the goats for
the shows, I have to make sure that they stay
fat.
But it doesn’t matter how big their stomachs
are; it depends on their udder.
So they have to have enough milk in their
udder—that’s how they mostly win.
And then I also walk them around, so they
know how it feels to walk around their pen.
And I also have to keep them brushed and washed.
I always go upwards, and then, once you go
upwards, then brush, upwards, brush, upwards,
brush.
Ashley: From the very first show that she
ever did, she placed second in showmanship
in a matter of five minutes of her doing it,
you know, from the very first time.
And, of course, a lot of that came from prepping
with Deidra and her daughter Tory.
And, um, we had some of the Extension personnel
come down and do, you know, just, just teaching
and, you know, helping them to learn in the
process.
And it all paid off.
Deidra: Parents can’t do it for them.
Whenever they’re out in that show ring,
it’s the kid, the goat, and that judge.
And it’s up to them.
And they have to know all the parts, all the
breeds.
I mean it’s a lot of things that they have
got to know to get that first place position.
Deidra: But when you’re eight or nine years
old, and you get this first place for showmanship
. . . Showmanship is seeing how good you do,
not how good ...
Speaker 6: Do you know how many total you
have?
Peyton (girl): No, I don’t.
Speaker 6: It’s a bunch.
Peyton (girl): Yeah.
I know I have three big ribbons and a plate.
In the middle of my first show, I got second
place in showmanship.
So it felt good to see how, when you put your
best effort forward, then you will win something
in return.
Ashley: From the very beginning, she kind
of just grabbed onto it and ran with it.
So from there, it’s kind of where we are
now.
Ashley: We have Alpine; we have Toggenburger;
we have Saanen.
We have a variety of them now.
Speaker 6: Do you know more about goats than
you ever thought that you would?
Ashley: More than I ever wanted to know.
I know way more than I need to know about
goats at this point.
(laughs)
Jennifer: At every single event, whether it’s
a clinic or it’s a show, her family supports
her 100-percent.
They’re cheering her on; they’re holding
her animals; they’re helping her clean her
animals.
Feed, water, whatever it is Peyton needs,
they’re there to support her for that.
Ashley: Everybody that you see here now, and
it’s usually my Mom and Dad, as well, and
then sometimes her uncle will come.
It actually is—we have this many people
everywhere we go.
We really do.
It is a family affair.
We have, we’re her little goat village.
Peyton (girl): It means a lot to me that they
support me because most of my family supports
me, no matter what, even if it was goats or
anything.
So that makes me feel good to know that they
care.
Ashley: I wholeheartedly appreciate the 4-H,
the Extension program, the whole process,
because she’s pretty much growing up before
my eyes every day, so I live for it.
I, I always want to see her smile.
And then she’s really, really, really independent,
and she learns and does things a lot on her
own.
Speaker 6: What would you say the one characteristic
maybe that has improved in you through this.
I mean, there’s a lot of things.
Peyton (girl): Responsibility.
Deidra: I value the Extension and the Livestock
Program because our kids need direction.
Our kids need values.
I mean, you can’t go wrong whenever you’re
teaching them work and responsibility and
. . . I mean that’s, that’s what life
is all about.
Jennifer: The greatest aspect about the Livestock
Project is we’re not just creating kids
that can go out there and show an animal in
the ring.
We’re creating leaders.
Kids that can be successful, and create a
really bright future.
Deidra: It’s just a very proud moment.
She’s going to go somewhere.
She’s going to be somebody.
