Critter Hill Goat Milk

🐄❤️ IT TAKES A VILLAGE… AND OUR VILLAGE SHOWED UP! ❤️🐄

We want to take a minute to say a HUGE THANK YOU to our family for showing up to the cow show to cheer Damien on!

There’s something pretty special about a kid stepping into that show ring, looking outside of it, and seeing a whole group of familiar faces there just for him. 🥹❤️

Livestock showing takes a lot of time, work, early mornings, late nights, dirty boots, stubborn animals, miles on the road, and more money than any of us probably care to admit. 😂 But having family there cheering from the sidelines makes those long days so much sweeter.

Thank you for showing up.
Thank you for cheering.
Thank you for encouraging Damien.
And thank you for being part of these memories with us. ❤️

The ribbons and placings are wonderful, but years from now, Damien may not remember every placing he ever got. He WILL remember looking outside that ring and seeing the people he loves there cheering him on.

And that means more to us than any banner or buckle ever could. 🥹🐄❤️

We love and appreciate every single one of you. Thank you for always showing up for our boy!

🐄❤️ Team Damien had one heck of a cheering section! ❤️🐄

🐷🔥 WAY TO GO, ELIZABETH BLACKWELL!! 🔥🐷

Now THIS is one to be proud of!

Elizabeth stepped into an EXTREMELY competitive 7th grade showmanship division and came out with an awesome 4TH PLACE! 🎉👏

And when we say competitive, we mean COMPETITIVE. This was a class full of talented young showmen who knew how to get it done in the ring, and Elizabeth proved that she belonged right there with them! 💪🐷

Pig showmanship takes focus, confidence, quick thinking, and the ability to read both your pig AND the judge—all while making it look like you’ve got everything completely under control. 😅 And Elizabeth worked hard from start to finish!

That 4th place represents a whole lot of practice, determination, and time spent working at home when nobody was handing out ribbons.

Elizabeth, hold your head HIGH! ❤️ You competed against some seriously talented showmen and earned your spot near the top of that class.

🐷🏆 Congratulations, Elizabeth Blackwell! We are SO proud of you and can’t wait to watch you keep growing in that show ring!

7th grade better watch out… Elizabeth came to compete! 🔥🐷👏

❤️🐄 SOMETIMES THE BIGGEST WINS DON’T COME WITH A RIBBON 🐄❤️

We want to give a BIG shoutout to Zoey Orwick, because yesterday she worked her tail off in the showmanship ring—even though the placings didn’t reflect just how hard she worked.

Zoey placed last in her showmanship class, but there’s a little more to the story than a number on a placing card.

Her heifer was the youngest one in the class, and with that youth comes a whole lot less ring experience. Zoey had to work twice as hard to keep her focused, moving, and presented the best she could—and she NEVER gave up on her. 💪🐄

That’s something worth celebrating.

Anyone can smile when they’re standing at the top of the class. A true showman keeps showing when things aren’t going their way. They stay patient, keep working, learn from the experience, and walk out of that ring ready to try again.

Yesterday might not have been Zoey’s day for a ribbon, but every minute she spent in that ring was experience for BOTH her and her heifer. ❤️

That baby cow is going to grow up. She’s going to get more comfortable in the ring. And Zoey is going to keep getting better right along with her.

Keep your head up, Zoey. We saw the work, and we are SO proud of you! 🐄❤️

Sometimes you leave the ring with a ribbon…and sometimes you leave with something even more valuable: experience for the next one. 💪

🎉🐄CONGRATULATIONS, GARRETT EDGER!! 🐄🎉

Another Critter Hill kid showing us what hard work looks like! ❤️

Garrett stepped into the ring and came away with an awesome 3RD PLACE in his showmanship division! 🥉👏

Showmanship takes patience, confidence, practice, and a whole lot of time spent working with your animal—and when all of that hard work comes together in the ring, it deserves to be celebrated!

Garrett, you did a fantastic job out there, and 3rd place is something to be mighty proud of! 🥉🐄

Keep putting in the work, keep learning, and most importantly, keep enjoying those moments in the ring. Every show makes you a stronger showman, and we can’t wait to see where you go from here!

Congratulations, Garrett! We are so proud of you! ❤️🐄🥉

The Critter Hill crew sure has had a lot to celebrate today! 🎉

🎉🐄CONGRATULATIONS, COLTON ORWICK!! 🐷🎉

Another great day in the show ring! ❤️

Colton stepped into the ring, put his skills to work, and came away with an awesome 2ND PLACE in his showmanship division! 🥈👏

Showmanship isn’t just about where you place—it’s about the time spent at home, the practice when nobody is watching, learning your animal, keeping your head in the ring, and giving it everything you’ve got when it’s your turn to show.

And Colton did exactly that!

Second place is something to be VERY proud of, especially when you know how much hard work goes into getting yourself and your animal ready for that ring.

Congratulations, Colton! Keep working, keep learning, and keep showing them what you can do. You represented yourself beautifully, and we are so proud of you! ❤️

🥈🐄 Way to go, Colton Orwick! 🐄🥈

🏆❤️ CONGRATULATIONS, JILL HOLLAND!!!!❤️🏆

What an incredible day for the Edgar/Holland family!

Jill stepped into that show ring and WON HER SHOWMANSHIP DIVISION, earning herself a beautiful BELT BUCKLE! 🎉🐄🏆

Showmanship is about so much more than the animal at the end of your whip. It’s about the work you’ve put in at home, knowing your animal, staying focused, keeping your composure, and showing the judge exactly what you can do—and Jill did just that! 👏

But what made this win even more special was that she wasn’t the only Edgar bringing home some hardware…

Her brother Barry won his first buckle too! 🥹❤️

Two siblings.
Two belt buckles.
One VERY proud family. 🏆🏆

There are some show days you forget and others you’ll talk about for years. I have a feeling this one is going in the Edgar family history books!

Congratulations, Jill! You earned it, girl! And congratulations to Jill & Barry on a sibling sweep that couldn’t have happened on a more special day! ❤️🐄🏆

The Holland kids came to SHOW! 🎉👏

🎉🏆 CONGRATULATIONS, BARRY HOLLAND!!!🏆🎉

Some wins just mean a little more. ❤️

Barry has been showing livestock since 9th grade, putting in the hours, doing the work, learning from every trip into the ring, and continuing to come back and try again.

And now, in his SENIOR YEAR, all that hard work finally paid off…

BARRY WON HIS FIRST BELT BUCKLE!! 🥹🏆

There’s something extra special about watching a young person stick with something year after year and finally get that moment they’ve been working toward. That buckle represents so much more than one day in the show ring—it represents years of dedication, perseverance, early mornings, late nights, wins, losses, lessons learned, and never giving up.

Barry, you EARNED this one, and we couldn’t be happier for you! What a way to celebrate your senior year! ❤️

Congratulations on that FIRST BUCKLE—I have a feeling it’s one you’ll treasure forever. 🏆🐄

Way to go, Barry! You did it!! 🎉👏

Show is truly a family affair!!! Thank you to all of our supporters and family members who trudge through the barns and show up bright and early to watch my son show you guys are super important and we love you guys a lot!!!

Well… you can’t win ’em all. And apparently sometimes you don’t even have to stand up for ’em. 😂🐄

Ruby went to the show today and made it VERY clear that participating was not on her agenda.

While the other calves were busy trying to impress the judge, Ruby decided she had seen enough.

She FLOPPED. OVER. RIGHT. IN. THE. RING. 🤦‍♀️😂

Yep. Just laid herself right down like, “Go ahead and judge me from here. I’m done.”

Poor Damien handled his little red-and-white drama queen beautifully. He stayed calm, kept working with her, and did everything he could while Ruby contributed approximately ZERO percent effort to this team project. 😂

The result?

🥇 Not first.
🥈 Not second.
🥉 Not even close.

🏆 DEAD. LAST. 😂😂😂

But that’s livestock showing. Some days you bring home the banner… and some days your cow lays down in the show ring.

We are still incredibly proud of Damien for handling the whole thing like a champ. ❤️ That’s the kind of showmanship you can’t measure with a placing.

Ruby, however, will be receiving a performance review.

Damien: 10/10 effort.
Ruby: 0/10 cooperation.
10/10 commitment to the flop. 🐄💤

Better luck next time, Team Critter Hill! 😂❤️