It has been 20 years since Terrebonne resident Bernie Becker was able to show one of her goats at the American Dairy Goat Association Show. That is the last time the national show — the equivalent of the Westminster Dog Show, for goats — was held close enough to make travel feasible for Becker.

The ADGA show, which is held in various parts of the country each year, has not been held on the West coast since 2009. When Becker learned that the national show was going to be held at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond during the week of July 11-18 this year, she was surprised.

“I was kind of shocked, but excited,” said Becker. “It will be in my own backyard and it has never been this close, ever. The closest was Salem twenty years ago, and Sacramento, CA was the closest beyond that.”

Becker has registered five of her dairy goats to show, and she feels confident about going up against a highly competitive field. Dairy goats raised in the northwest are known to be top quality — they took home many of the honors at the last national show held in the midwest. Since the show will be held in the northwest this year the caliber of the goats shown is expected to be the very best of the very best.

Becker is looking forward to the challenge, as most of the goats that she will be showing are already permanent champions.

“There is a small group of us here in Central Oregon, and we all have high-quality animals,” said Becker. “We’ve been competing in the northwest and done well, so I feel like we stand as good a chance as anyone to do well at the national show.”

Even so, Becker notes that many of the top breeders in the country will be represented at the event, including several with large herds from the Valley.

“There are going to be some ‘big gun’ goats there,” said Becker. “It’s going to be a battle.”

The national event — hosted by the Northwest National Show Association — requires a substantial facility equipped to handle at least 1500 goats and up to 750 of their human companions for a solid week.

“It is a large convoy of humans and animals that basically come in and take over,” said Brandi Giachino, president and host chairperson of the Northwest National Show Association. “The facility in Redmond was the only one we could find this side of the Cascades that could accommodate us.”

Several members of the association visited Redmond earlier this year to check out the facility and came away very impressed.

“They absolutely loved it, they thought it was phenomenal,” said Giachino. “It is a really nice facility with plenty of room for the animals and it is a beautiful area. It is exactly what we need.”

The group, along with other clubs from around the country, submitted their host proposals to the ADGA, and the board of directors selected Redmond as the site for the 2015 national show.

“ADGA attempts to hold the national show in different areas of the country to allow members from across the nation the opportunity to attend,” said Shirley McKenzie, association manager for ADGA. “The show attracts exhibitors from throughout the United States and is projected to have more than 1,800 animals shown this year by 250 different exhibitors. There will be national and local vendors from throughout the United States as well.”

The ADGA serves more than 15,000 members and registers approximately 45,000 dairy goats each year. With over two million animals registered since the association was organized in 1904, it is the largest and fastest growing dairy goat organization and registry in the nation.

“Each day of the show will feature one or two of the eight breeds of dairy goats recognized by the ADGA,” said McKenzie. “The first show will begin on Sunday afternoon and the premier national sale/auction of top quality dairy goats will be held Friday evening. Youth events are at the beginning of the week kicking off with contests on Saturday afternoon.”

The show is open to the public, and both Becker and Giachino encourage people to attend and learn more about dairy goats. They particularly recommend catching the Youth Fitting Team Contest on Sunday, July 12 at noon. The contest pits teams of youth against each other as they race to prepare a goat for the judging ring in a set period of time.

“It is amazing and fascinating to watch,” said Becker. “They have to trim hooves, clean ears, clip from head to toe and all in a short period of time with all kinds of people watching them.”

Another recommended highlight is the wine and cheese party held at 3 p.m. on Friday, July 17 featuring goat cheese from around the northwest.

Becker, who keeps several herds of different breeds on her farm, Double B Acres, has been breeding and showing goats for 40 years. She and Giachino, who has a large herd of her own, acknowledge that raising dairy goats is not for the weak.

“It takes a great deal of dedication and perseverance to raise dairy goats, especially on the national level,” said Giachino. “They require a great deal of care.”

“All of our goats have a purpose,” said Becker. “We don’t keep them just because they are cute.”

Even so, visitors to the national show should prepare to be charmed.

“Goats are very personable,” said Becker. “If I have a bad day I can go out with the goats and they come around to be scratched and just help to diffuse the day.”

Giachino agrees, and compares goats to man’s best friend.

“Goats are very doglike and people have no idea about that,” said Giachino. “They learn their own names, come when they are called and know when they are in trouble. They respond to tone of voice and energy, and some goats can be very friendly and loving.”

To learn more about the ADGA National Show and to view the full schedule of events during the week-long show, visit www.nationalshow.org, There is also a Facebook page for the show: www.facebook.com/nwnsa.