FIFTEEN-year-old Sam Owen has his heart set on being a dairy farmer but his goats will always be his pride and joy — the Bridestowe resident went away with an armful of rosettes from the Devon County Show and says he has his grandmother to thank for his success!

Sam and his grandmother Margaret Ford proved a formidable team at the show at Westpoint, Exeter last week with their British Saanen and British Toggenburg goats and they had other wins in the Any Other Variety (AOV) classes too.

Three years ago Sam was the youngest person ever to win a championship at a show with his own bred goat. He was 11 years old and it was the Royal Cornwall Show.

He got his first goat Maple seven years ago from his grandmother and has never looked back: ‘It became an obsession really,’ said Sam. ‘Once I had bred my first goat I was hooked. I absolutely love them, they are my pride and joy.’

Sam said there was a strong entry in the goat classes at this year’s Devon County Show but he has seen numbers diminish on the showing circuit as a whole.

‘We attend quite a few shows and and although I think the showing side of it is decreasing, a lot more people are keeping goats now. They are incredible fussy animals, people think they will eat anything but they won’t. They will nibble things like leaves but if hay or food touches the ground they won’t touch it.’

Sam’s grandmother said she had been showing goats for 40 years and Sam was a natural: ‘He understands them and works really well with them,’ she said. ‘He is very good with all animals and has started showing cows lately.’

Sam works with Tracy Marshall at Bridestowe who is also a champion dairy cow breeder and well known on the showing circuit: ‘My plan is to become a dairy cow farmer,’ added Sam, ‘but goats will always be the pride and joy of the farm for me. I have a small herd of goats, a total of 11, and they will always be the fun side of farming.’

Sam lives on his parents’ farm in Lake near Bridestowe.

More show news on pages 36-44.