Photo courtesy of Carole Contreras and The
American Harness Goat Association.
AMERICAN HARNESS GOAT ASSOCIATION
Preserving the Working Goat Since 1997
Carole Contreras
I have been training harness goats since 1992. John Myonzynski’s(?)
book, “The Pack Goat” gave brief mention of harness goats,
and that chance encounter charted my course. Buying adult goats at auction,
I set about teaching myself to train them to harness. Strictly a solo
venture, I yearned for a way to introduce others to the capabilities
of the working goat.
The American Harness Goat Association began with an invitation to speak
on harness goats at the November 1997, WA State Dairy Goat Conference.
Knowing that forum would be a prime opportunity to assess any interest
in a local harness goat association, twenty-two people signed up, and
we were on our way to forming the first harness goat association in
the United States.
Spring and summer of 1998 saw a flurry of AHGA activities, including
parade entries; harness goat competitions; county fair demonstrations;
and training clinics.
The year 1999 brought growing pains as with any club, and participation
at the local level waned. Though the AHGA newsletter continued, I had
doubts the club would survive.
Hoegger’s, Caprine Supply, and Alternate Livestock Supply, got
wind of the AHGA and began printing information about the club in their
catalogs. These three companies saved the AHGA, as inquiries began coming
in from all over the country.
The AHGA boasts over ninety members now, and growing. The AHGA format
today has evolved into a quarterly newsletter filled with training Q
& A’s; guides to harness and cart acquisition; and hitches
from team to tandem. Clinics are held in Washington and Oregon. A Harness
Goat column also appears in Goat Tracks magazine.
If you would like to join the thriving AHGA, yearly dues are $10 and
a simple training manual, “Training Harness Goats for Fun”
is available for $5. Contact Carole Contreras, 15835 Bald Hill Road
SE, Yelm, WA 98597-8931, Email: callmecarole@juno.com.
WATCH FOR THE HARNESS GOAT BOOK AND VIDEO, AVAILABLE SOON!
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