that’s good about the show goat industry.  

     I spent my 4th of July holiday driving to look at goats.  The rest of the family was tied up w/ a fundraising deal, so I went with part of my other family to look at goats.  Big Bill, Tyke, Braden and I met Thompson to look through a set of goats.  We left early.  

      Another family was there ahead of us.  But they were there to work and pick out a goat or two.   I just kind of stayed out of the way.  I can be a lot of things, but I don’t like to be a pita.  (Pain In The Ass)  I will normally stay clear and let others do their thing.  I don’t want anybody to mess with me when I’m doing whatever it is that I do, and I try to return the favor.  Our crew sorted through and then ended back where the other family was clipping doe kids.  I parked my donkey on a chair and continued to eat tamales.  And talk.  Not about goats, just life.  

     I have known Robbie Sanders for several years.  Like a lot of us in this business, he is an ex-ag teacher from a public school.  He still teaches, but in a different capacity.  He and his family raise a few goats and have been very competitive in the doe shows here in Oklahoma.  They’ve gathered some division banners at OYE and are consistently tough to beat.  They do a good job and work hard at it.  They are also trying to raise some good goats.  And I look forward to feeding a wether from them.

      What I didn’t know about Robbie, is that he is way into civil war re-enactments.  Which actually explains a lot.  He has always worn this old hat that looks like it came from the civil war.  And he always has this well-groomed pelt of a goatee.  Perfect for civil war type deals.  When I say that he is way into this kind of deal, I’m talking that he is a colonel in this army and it has led him to earn several jobs in movies.  For example, there is an upcoming small-budget pic called the “Lone Ranger”  which is coming out to a theater near you, that just happens to have Johnny Depp in it.  Guess who else is in it?  Robbie Sanders.  I don’t know Johnny Depp, but I know Robbie Sanders and he’s got some cool stories about making other movies.  Living in tents for a month while filming.  He can drop names like Tom Berenger and others.  Stories of filming one day as a part of the south army and the next day as a member of the north army.  And then trying to make sure that you were in the same spots, both days of filming, so that you could be fighting yourself when the film is all put together.  I just sat there, listening and asking questions.  He’s got a passion for it and I love it. It turns out that the Sanders family has been in a commercial on OKC tv….with one of their show goats in the commercial.  I haven’t seen it, but Mikey has.  I asked Robbie what that gig paid.  He said, “The family worked for free but the animals charged a lot.”  Awesome.  

      Now here’s the rest of the story.  He’s really good at clipping does.  And his family knows how to get hair popping and help him.  They work as a team.  And when I say that they are good, I’m talking he’s clipped lots of does that ended up taking pictures with banners and some that they wished would have won.  The scary part is that he’s an ex-ag teacher, therefore he doesn’t know exactly what to properly charge.  Why?  Because he spent decades clipping/shearing animals for free and trying to make them as good as possible.  Which basically means that he doesn’t charge enough!  I don’t know exactly what he charges, but I’ve heard rumours.  And I guarantee you that there are people out there, that aren’t as good, that make way more money than they do.  But, because there is a passion for doing it and continually getting better, he’s happy.  I bet, that it all pays off in the long run.

     Now that I have put this out there, don’t go trying to hire him because you think he might work cheap or work a miracle on your little project that hasn’t been worked with enough.  Don’t dis-respect anybody like that.  But, if you’ve got a well-presented animal that needs that little extra flair that’s been missing and you are willing to make it worth his while, I highly recommend him.  Maybe, if you need a pointer about the getting hair popped right or if you don’t need a doe clipped, but want something interesting in your day, stop and talk to Robbie and the rest of his clan.  They are in it for the right reasons.  And that is the kind of stuff that makes this stock show deal a great place to raise kids.  Here’s to you, and others like you, that don’t mind working to help others.