(Photos by Lorene Toth.) Kestrel is my favorite Maestro daughter from 2003; for her personality, she's one of my favorite does, period. At one show as a baby doe, the judge informed me she was taking her home in her suitcase; when she was a yearling first freshener, a long time breeder whom I respect said to me "It's not very often that a doe takes my breath away, but that doe did it." She is also the only goat we've had who figured out how to climb onto the roof of the run-in shed to sunbathe. Kestrel's value lies most securely in her ability to produce tremendous numbers of kids with her nice general appearance, but more beautiful in the mammary department than herself. Her lookalike daughter by Funny Cide, First Flight, earned her GCH Jr leg as a yearling and promptly freshened with a beautiful and capacious udder--she was unbeaten in her class in 8 straight shows as a yearling first freshener. We lost Flight to an untimely death from listeria, but we are happy to have had her sister Declare returned home. Her daughters by Rio, Imagine That!, Bandit, and Senna, are just breathtaking, and did very well in the show ring as juniors with limited showing. We lost 2 of her 2007 triplets by Appomattox, but the remaining buckling, Kiss of Death, has outstanding general appearance and dairy character, and has a show career in the works. Every time I consider selling Kestrel, I look at her list of offspring and dismiss the thought; she certainly earns her keep. She started off with a bang on test in 2007, but she seems to have reacted badly to the loss of two of her kids, responding with an abrupt drop in production; we will try her again in 2008.

Show record: 2 x 1st, 2 x RGChJr., 1 x GChJr., 2 x Best of Breed Junior Doe

Kidding record: 2004, twin bucks by Funny Cide; 2005, triplets, 2 does and a buck by Funny Cide (see Declare); 2006, quads, 3 does and a buck by Rio; 2007, triplets, 1 doe and 2 bucks by Appomattox.

October, 2004
May, 2003	July 2003 (photo:Cheryle Moore-Smith)