We caught up with Jaci Falkenstien, the exhibitor the Grand Champion Market Goat at the 2024 Aksarben Stock Show. Learn a little more about Jaci below!

If you had to use one word to describe the people supporting you, what would it be?
Family

What was something that you have had to overcome as a showman to get to where you are now?
Something I had to overcome as a showman was wanting to always be perfect. This internal mindset caused me to be very nervous and to get really flustered if anything happened that wasn’t ideal. This would cause the animals to feed off this energy and nothing good came from this. My brother said, “You have to stop showing to ‘not lose’ and ‘show to win’!” He is saying I had to stop trying so hard to be perfect and just work with what I have to make it the best possible. I have used this quote a lot this year to change my mindset and work to create a partnership with my animal. We then just show off this partnership in the ring. While I am still very anxious before I go into the ring, this has helped me to work through the nerves and keep me from doing my best in the show ring.

If you could pick any animal you’ve ever had to be on your show string your whole show career, what animal would it be? Why?
If I were to pick any goat I have ever shown I would pick the wether that won Aksarben in 2022. I loved the personality he had. He was always sweet and worked really well. His name was Went because he came from Went Show Goats. He is also one of the highest quality wethers I have ever shown giving him an advantage. This sounds a little odd, but I liked him so much simply because he made life easy. He worked awesome; he always drenched really well; and he was just a delightful animal to have in the barn who was phenotypically correct in so many ways.

If you had to pick a favorite judge, who would it be and why?
So this is a hard question for me, but if I were to pick a favorite judge it would probably have to be Skylar Scotten. I always like showing to Skylar because his style is very similar to what our team likes. More importantly, I have always appreciated that he is really easy to follow, and if you don’t win, he will describe exactly what he sees and usually you can see it for yourself.

If you could pick another species to show, what would it be? Why?
If I had to pick another species to show, I would probably pick cattle. My older brother, Trace, raises cattle and I enjoy helping him in his barn. I have shown cattle before, and I enjoy working their hair, and I like looking at them when they are all fluffed up.

How do you want to impact the livestock industry?
I want to impact the livestock industry by bringing up the next generation of showmen and mentoring them to acquire a strong work ethic and be disciplined. I currently help young showmen from my local area. Watching them grow as showmen and as individuals has been very rewarding. It has also been a challenge to break things down to the beginning building blocks to see improvement by setting and meeting goals. 

We caught up with Jaci Falkenstien, the exhibitor the Reserve Grand Champion Market Goat at the 2024 Kansas State Fair. Learn a little more about Jaci below!

What was the hardest thing for you to learn showing?
The hardest thing for me to learn in showing is it’s not about showing to not lose it’s about showing to win. This is a quote my brother has told me, and it is something that truly resides with me. I like to be perfect. Because of this, when something doesn’t go right, I get flustered. This causes the goats to get tense, and it goes downhill from there. I have worked hard to change my mindset and rather than being perfect, I focus on not showing a bad look. By doing this, I stay calm cool, and collected; and the goat stays relaxed too so I can make it look just that much better.

Who has been your biggest inspiration to become the person you are today?
My role model is my older brother, Luke. He always pushes me to be my absolute best and pushes me to do everything as perfectly as possible to achieve the goals we set. We work day in and day out getting every small detail right. This is his first year back from college, and I truly believe I wouldn’t have been able to get this goat shown at the level I did if he hadn’t been home to help me. It’s kinda funny, but we always joke we could win a national charades competition if we were partners. This shows how much we work together and the bond we have built.

What do you do to calm your nerves?
I always have a lot of nerves and probably will no matter how old I am. Because of this, I’m always fidgeting. I use this fidgeting to calm my nerves. The movements help my mind settle some even if it doesn’t look like it to others. I also make sure to breathe. For example, when I’m in the ring I always make sure to take a breath, especially if something isn’t going my way, just to regroup and make sure my mind is focused on the task at hand.

What is your favorite hobby?
Okay so this sounds cliche, but honestly, my favorite hobby is showing and raising goats. I love all the people and getting to see friends who I know will always have my back no matter what. I love the atmosphere at these shows, but not just showing I enjoy raising them too. Getting to see a baby be born and spending all the time to keep it healthy, up until the sales and making them their best at the sales to finally see these animals make other kids’ dreams come true is such a great feeling, and there’s nothing I would rather do.

Showing in Showmanship or Showing in the show
Showing in the show

Working hair or Clipping
Working hair

We caught up with Jaci Falkenstien, the exhibitor the Grand Champion Market Goat at the 2023 Kansas State Fair! Learn a little more about Jaci below!

Age: 16

Hometown: I’m from Bartlett, Kansas

Grade: I am a Sophomore in High School.

What’s your Goat name? and what made him/her so special?
My goat’s name is Kempker, because we bought him from Kempker Livestock. Something that made him sepcial is he loved people and attention. In Kansas, the Grand and Reserve Grand of each species go to a barn in the middle of the fairgrounds called the FFA barn. This barn is used to showcase these animals to the public. Since he loved attention,it made him the perfect animal to teach people about agriculture.

Throughout your show career what’s been your favorite Goat?
Throughout my show career, my favorite goat was my Went wether who was Grand Champion at Aksarben in 2022. We just always got along, and he was a calm goat that showed well. He is also one of the highest quality wethers that I have shown.

What do you tell yourself right before you go into the ring?
Right  before I go into the ring, I always pray to God to help give me confidence and I also tell myself, “You got this.”

What’s your dream college to attend?
Since I’m only a sophomore in High School, I don’t know for sure where I want to go, but at this point, I am planning on pursuing a career in embryology.

What’s your favorite thing to do in the barn?
My favorite thing to do in the barn is deliver baby goats and work with my show animals.

What’s your favorite show? and why?
My favorite show is Aksarben because their facilities are always nice and there is plenty of room. Also, the people working there are always really respectful and want to help you in any way they can.

How do you stay focused on reaching your goal?
I have learned over the years in showing that attention to details is one of the main things that can take you from 3rd to Grand. Thus, I stay focused on my goal by following a strict rinsing, treadmilling, and feeding schedule. Also, I ask people who are more experienced than I am to come and look at the goats almost weekly to make sure they are growing and looking the way they need to.

Who has been your biggest influence?
One of my biggest influences would have to be my brother Luke. He truly understands what I am capable of and pushes me to work hard and do the best I can.  Also, my parents are a great influence.  They have always been my biggest supporters and always help me to do my best. They help me with my animals when I am at school or participating in other activities. If I am talking about my biggest influences, two people I couldn’t forget to mention are Trent and Emma Kempker. They have been helping me since 2019 and helped me to get to the level I am able to compete at today. I couldn’t be more proud or thankful that these people are in my corner and are making me the person I am today.

We caught up with Jaci Falkenstien, exhibitor of the Grand Champion Market Goat and Reserve Grand Champion Doe at the 2022 Aksarben Stock Show! Learn a little more about Jaci below!

Age: 15

Hometown: Bartlett, KS

School: I went to Bartlett Grade School in Kansas USD 506 from K-8th Grade. It is a small local school with about 120 kids K-8th. I now attend Labette County High School, a 4A high school in Altamont, Kansas.

Future Plans:
I don’t know for sure what I want to do when I get older, but at this point, I want to major in small animal embryo transfer and minor in zoololgy.

How many years have you been showing? Do you show any other species?
I have shown for 7 years. I showed cattle one year, sheep one year, pigs for two years, and I show horses at the county level. I prefer showing goats.

Other hobbies besides showing livestock?
Other hobbies that I enjoy are playing basketball and I am active in my church youth group. A majority of my time is spent working in our family business improving the quality of show goats we raise.

Best stock show memory:
My best stock show memory so far would probably have to be this year. Earlier this month I was blessed being named Champion Senior Showman, showing the Reserve Grand Champion Market Goat, and raising and showing the Supreme Doe at the Kansas State Fair.  Just a  few weeks later, we competed at the Aksarben Stock Show where I was named Reserve Champion Senior Showman, showed the Grand Champion Market Goat, and raised and showed the same doe as Reserve Supreme Doe.

This memory is rivaled by the year 2019 when I showed the Grand Champion Market Goat at the Kansas State Fair with a wether we had raised followed by a market goat win at the Aksarben Stock Show with a goat my brother had planned to show at the American Royal. Like many sotck show families, we spend numerous hours in the barn with our animals and our family making memories.

Tell us about your recent champion:
I really liked the goat I showed. I am not very good at naming my wethers so this one’s name was Went after his breeder. He had a great personality and was pretty easy to show except when he is backing out of the brace or not wanting to walk. He was raised by Went Show Goats and was placed by Kempker, Bounds, and Ausmus.  I will miss having him in the barn.  

What is one word that describes the feelings you had stepping foot into the Grand Drive?
This is probably the hardest question for me because there are so many thoughts going through my mind like excited, anxious, and joyful. If I were to pick just one, I would say grateful. I’m grateful for the people that have pushed me to get where I am, but also that God has put me in the place to be able to compete at the level I do.

Favorite Livestock Show:
I don’t really have a favorite Livestock Show, but if I were to pick one: I would say Aksarben Stock Show. They genuinely care about the people who are showing. They have great facilities with plenty of room and work hard to put on a great show.

THIS OR THAT
Washing or Clipping
Washing

Halter Breaking or Training to Brace
Training to Brace

Banners or Buckles
Banners

Cleaning Pens or Changing/Cleaning Water Buckets
Chaning Water Buckets