Fort family spent a week at Dutchess Fair
So, what did you do last week?
Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t what Fort Montgomery’s Jonathan, Tierney and Alice Kain did!
Last week the young family — the proprietors of Hillaire Farm of Scott’s Circle — exhibited with their goats at the 175th Dutchess County Fair.
After the cancellation of the fair last year, the Kains were excited to attend this year. They were especially excited to bring their newest family member, daughter Alice, with them.
This year Hillaire Farm of Scott’s Circle showed their Oberhasli goats as well as their newest breed to the farm, Guernsey goats. Guernsey’s are the rarest breed of dairy goats in the US.
The Kains were the first farm to show Guernsey goats in New York earlier in the year and with it being the 175th year of the Fair, “it felt special to bring in a new breed of goats,” Jon said.
So how did the Kains do at the show? Pretty darn well!
They won Reserve Grand Champion with three of their goats, and ended up with 15 first place ribbons, six second place ribbons and a few third and fourth place ribbons.
“All in all, we’ve seen progress since we started showing our goats at the fair back in 2018,” Jon said.
But, attending the Fair isn’t all about winning — the family enjoys their week of “vacation”, spending time with each other, family and friends who also show their livestock.
“One of our most treasured moments of the week was Jon having Alice on his hip while showing our champion goat Gem,” Tierney said. “And Jon even got to plug into his roots and show a few Aryshire cows for a friend.”
The Kains were thrilled, too, when their friends and family from Highland Falls and Fort Montgomery stopped by to see them at the fair. Many posted on those visits on social media.
They are also proud to help teach new generations of New Yorkers about goats, farming and agriculture in general.
“The Dutchess County Fair is about showing off your hard work but also being representatives for agriculture and we are proud to represent Fort Montgomery and dairy goats every year,” Jon said.
He added they are also looking forward to next year when they will be showing their goats at the American Dairy Goat Association National Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The Kains have been showing their goats all over the northeast since spring, the Dutchess County Fair was their sixth and final show for the season.
So what’s next?
Enjoying more time at home preparing for winter and next year’s show season.