Her name was Daisy. She was a three month old baby goat, living on Barry Schwenk’s Barto, Pa. farm, when I first laid eyes on her energetic demeanour. I wasn’t sure what my future would entail when I signed up to participate in Sly Fox Brewery’s Goat Race. But with the enthusiasm and confidence beaming from Barry’s youngest daughter, Piper, regarding her favorite kid of the pack, I trusted that Daisy could hold her own in a sea of larger, elder goats.
I wish I could say that I spent weeks training with Daisy leading up to the early May race in 2012, staging relays and sprinting back and forth to introduce the youngster to the heated activities that she would soon become roped into. But, it was my rookie mistake that I spent only one short spring evening testing out the goat’s running capabilities, and instead focused my energies on building hype for my team, officially coined “Team Piper” after Daisy’s favorite human companion. How hard could racing a goat be?
Screen tees were printed, goat pins were crafted, Facebook campaigns were ran, and Race Day came. I journeyed to the village Barto to scoop up my contestant, who was experiencing her Big Day Out, being that this game day would be her first leaving the farm. As I loaded her in the back of my Subaru, she was not pleased. Non-stop bahhs filled the air for my full 45 minute drive to Phoenixville, where the race annually throws down in the Sly Fox Brewhouse parking lot.
While she lived on a farm with many goats, most of which were her siblings and her mom, it was instantly apparent that goats three times her size were the scariest thing. To be honest, during the short hours leading up to my heat’s first race, more time was spent holding the sweet baby goat versus practicing strategy.
Ever since I’ve known about the Annual Sly Fox Goat Race, I craved to compete. This became a number one priority on my bucket list. However, I never thought about the actual aspect of being a goat caretaker for an entire day—a baby goat caretaker, more importantly—and let’s be clear, that’s nothing to joke around with.
Around 2 p.m. in the afternoon, myself and my assistant Goat Coach, Sarah Gagliardo, filed up to the starting line with Daisy. I had no idea how our participation would play out at this point, but she did look rather innocent sashaying up alongside our competitors, all of which were twice—some triple—her size.
I don’t know what came over our little goat, but I suspect she’s a quick learner, because once she saw the other competing goats sprint, she did too. As a natural Speedy Gonzales, her little four legs proved to be fierce, allowing us to score placement in our heat.
If you’re not aware how Sly Fox’s Goat Race works, it’s fairly strict. Each goat is leashed and the leash can’t surpass five feet of distance. The goats must cross the finish line first, with you second. Any individual that crosses the finish line before their goat is disqualified.
Moving on to the semi-finalist round was something I may have not foreseen, but I was incredibly proud of Daisy for holding her own. During our second race, we were matched up against the unstoppable, three-legged Peggy, and if you follow the annual races, you know how this story goes. Peggy is one terrific competitor and I was thrilled to see her claim victory of 2012’s Goat Race.
As for Daisy, known to many now as Piper, she is my goat race champion. Although dainty and darling in appearance, she proved to be unthreatened by elder goats and easily stood tall against this cutthroat competition.
The best part? Once we trekked back to her home that early Sunday evening, she immediately hopped atop the farm’s goat house and all her siblings circled around. It was as if they were having a storytelling hour, and she had the best tale of them all.
The 2013 Sly Fox Bock Fest and Goat Race returns Sunday, May 5, at 11 a.m., in the Phoenixville Brewhouse’s parking lot (520 Kimberton Rd.). The races begin at 2 p.m. More information here.
Photographs credited to Nina Lea Photography. More photographs from last year’s race are viewable here.
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