04/21/2026
“A Tale of Two Sable (Lines)”
Over the years I have been asked how we came to breeding Sables. I will have to take you back to 2015 when a very ambitious 36 year old me took a risk and a contract to produce commercial Grade A milk…all with 5 boys under the age of 10. It was a monumental effort to get to a minimum headcount for cashflow and survivability.. all with a base herd of Nubians. We are on a protein base contract but flow matters when you’re shipping fluid long distance.
That summer the ADGA National Show was in Redmond, OR and I watched (really for the first time) the Sable show. These animals that had been part of a color disqualification arrived in the western ring with what had never caught my eye until that moment: presence, personality, and persistency. There were some dang nice goats in that ring. I remember noting a couple does in particular from 3 herds; Joash..Klisse’s… and Joheas-Acres. Klisse’s NSNN Leah was stuck in my head.
By the end of the week I had been approached to transition the Joheas-Acres does fully to my herd as they were focused more on other breeds and they thought the does would be a productive addition to my plans… and they were right. We finished the permanent CH on Joheas-Acres Dahnay (2012 Junior National Champion) and crossed her to a Spotlight Sale purchase Springfield-Oaks HW Juniper to make a Sable with absolutely stunning teat placement, texture, and productivity. Final Approach placed 4th in her class at the 2023 National Show.
Back to 2015…Less than a month following Redmond, it was announced that the Joash herd had made their final exhibition at that 2015 National Show and the herd was quickly being dispersed. On a Saturday morning I received a frantic call from a herd filling a dairy order that a doe too beautiful to end up on an Idaho commercial facility was in a truck east bound and about 2 hours from passing La Grande. I happened to know the buyer. A phone call to the truck driver resulted in a stop on I-84 where I searched through 75 head at a Flying J truck stop and pulled off Joash PBB Cookie-N-Cream.
That fall at buck collection luck would also have it that straws of that Leah son Klisse’s KPOH Ammon were available. In 2017 I trialed some of the first IVF protocols on Cream using a straw of Ammon.. and made the most notable does of my career. Grande Ronde AC Chocolate Chip and Grande Ronde AC Chocolate Tart.
We are beyond humbled to participate in the upcoming Best of The West sale where I offer you our Sable Buck consignment and the tale of these herds. The dam is Grande Ronde Final Approach and the sire Klisse’s KPOH Ammon.
“Grande Ronde Final Frontier ET” is the combination of 11 years of reproductive work with the genetics that started our Sable story. Pick him up April 29 so you can write your own ♥️
