By Lucky Kidd
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The Golden Goat will be in possession of the Hutchinson Fire Department for the next year. A three-member team from the department won the Kansas State Fair’s Celebrity Goat Milking Contest this year, edging out a three-member State Fair Board team in the final round of the contest where each member milked the goat for 15 seconds then switched off to another team member.
HFD team leader Andrew Pauly told Ad Astra News after the contest they felt very good about their win. “We milked it for all its worth, we didn’t get a milk dud, so it felt pretty good to come out on top,” Pauly grew up on a dairy farm in the Garden Plain area, which played a big role in his leadership of the team.
In the first round the HFD out-milked a team from perennial contest power Kansas Highway Patrol, and in the semi-finals edged out a team made up of Hutchinson Mayor Greg Fast, Vice Mayor Stacey Goss and Fire Chief Steven Beer.
Following last year’s contest, the Fair Board made a leadership change in their team, with board member Sarah Green taking over. “We had a good outing, a great team, strong hands,” Green said after the final. The big milker on that team was board member Nick Kretzner of Bird City, with State 4-H Leader Sarah Maass, like Ketzner a first-time milker, also contributing.
The Fair Board defeated a past champion team from Hutchinson’s Catholic parishes in the first round, and in the semi-final edged out the defending champion team from Reno County EMS.
Also competing this year were Reno County Commissioners Daniel Friesen, Don Bogner and Randy Parks, who were edged out by the City Council in the first round.
