MORE THAN A QUEEN

Brooke Moorse had been showing dairy cows and heifers at her last four appearances at the Minnesota State Fair. After a disappointing finish last year, she knew it was time to try something different.
Since she was going away to college, her time was limited, so she told her older brother, Garrett, that she wanted to try showing dairy goats at the state fair.
"Garrett told he had a goat and said that if I showed it this year 'You're going to win everything' so I decided to go for it," Brooke recalls.
Garrett turned out to be a prophet.
Brooke showed Flirtini, a three-year-old LaMancha, at the State Fair last Friday and came away with a rare "Triple Crown" win for Advanced Showmanship Champion, Grand Champion Senior LaMancha, and Best in Show - Senior Doe.
Brooke, the daughter of Greg and Becky Moorse of Minneota, was the 2020 Boxelder Bug Days queen, although the honor didn't have its usual fanfare because of the pandemic. The coronation was held at the football field and was the only event held during Bug Days that year.
The Triple Crown at the State Fair, however, was a huge deal with plenty of fanfare for the Moorse family.
"This really means a lot to me," said Brooke, who is a freshman majoring in Agricultural Education at South Dakota State University.
The showing began at 8:15 a.m. in the Compeer Arena on Friday with Advanced Showmanship, which is an event for veteran 4-H club members that are between juniors in high school and up to freshmen in college. There were two classes in this category, with Brooke winning in Class B.
With little time before the next showing, Brooke grabbed something to eat quick and headed back to the ring for the Senior LaMancha breed classes showing around 11:30 a.m.
This showing is for any dairy goats that are currently milking.
Not long after that, Brooke was competing in Best of Show - Senior Doe with Flirtini, along with eight other recognizable breeds.
"When it came down to the judges deciding between me and one other person for best in show, I kept looking back at Garrett but he couldn't watch," Brooke said with a laugh. "When it got to the point where they decided, we both cried."
Brooke credited her brother for a day she will long remember.
"I can't thank Garrett enough for teaching me everything I know," Brooke said. "I wanted to make him proud. The best I had done with a dairy cow or heifer in the past at state fari was in 2018 when I won Reserve Grand Champion for a three-year-old."
In 2016, his final year showing at the State Fair, Garrett won both Interviews and Showmanship for dairy goat.
Flirtini is a derivation from her mother's name, Flirt. Brooke has shown Flirtini at several other events throughout the year such as Sauk Centre, Aberdeen, the Yellow Medicine County Fair in Canby, and a national showing in Harrisburg, PA.
But nothing was more eventful than Flirtini's "Triple Crown" showing at the 2022 Minnesota State Fair.
Full local state fair results will be available in an upcoming issue.