Ancient Valley Ranch

r and a 4-H livestock leader, and has earned Honorary Chapter Degrees for both the Rosamond and Antelope Valley FFA groups. As a breeder, I always try to learn from the critical guidance provided by those who judge my own breeder stock. With an interest in becoming a judge myself, I assisted accredited Judges for two shows in the past two years. This year, I was trained and certified as a Myotonic goat Judge, and had the honor of being on the judging panel for the MGR 2012 National Show in Henderson, Texas. I also have judged in Oregon, Idaho and Utah for the MGR and FGG. I have learned to respect judges who offer constructive criticism to their contestants, and my own judging goals are to help: 1) improve the value and respect for Myotonic goat awards 2) contribute to the growth of a well qualified and certified pool of Myotonic goat judges; and 3) work for the continued improvement of the Myotonic goat breed through fair and effective judging at its shows. My interest in adding to the body of judging guidelines for evaluating breed conformation lead me to write an article entitled The Myotonic Head -- A Key Characteristic in Judging the Breed that is published in the December 2012 issue of the Meat Goat Monthly News.