Paul Barker
GOAT CITY BAY, CALIFORNIA– A goat’s beard is his pride and joy and what better way to show off those whiskers than at the annual World Goat Beard Contest, which took place in Goat City Bay this past weekend.
The recent annual beard contest drew thousands of hairy goats from all around the world, and this year’s winner set a record for having the longest goatee since the contest’s inception.
Billy Goat, a 9 year old farmer from the Rocky Mountains in Goatville, Alaska, is this year’s winner by a landslide, with his facial hair measuring in at an astounding 4 feet and 2 inches in length. Billy’s record easily beat out last year’s winner whose beard measured in at 3 feet and 7 inches in total.
Billy claims that he started growing his beard ever since he got his first few hairs as a kid. He also gives credit to his mother for feeding him extra creamy milk when he was young.
The hairy, all-natural Billy attests his unbelievable beard growth to a daily routine of chin massages, skin oiling, and a self-invented technique where he has his wife pull on his whiskers for twenty minutes a day with her strong teeth.
The international beard show has been held in various cities around the world since 2009, and the only major rule is that the hair has to be completely genuine with no extensions.
The no hair extension rule may seem obvious, but became an official rule back in 2011 when a duplicitous goat used fake hair to win the title. After a two week investigation, the cheater was found guilty of breaking the rules and was subsequently stripped of the title, which was then given to the runner-up.
Other than the aforementioned rule, judging is fairly simple and straightforward. The male with the longest beard wins. Although the World Goat Beard Contest is the most popular, many other annual events that judge beards on other factors, such as style, color, and smell, are also rising in popularity.
This year’s second place title went to Buck Horn from Alberta, Canada, and third place was awarded to Shānyáng from Beijing, China.
Be sure to check out the all-female goat beard contest taking place in New Delhi, India next month on pay-per-view.
