Willy the ‘little rodeo goat’ is lost in a Texas town — so the search is on, photos show
The antics of a runaway rodeo goat are putting a small town in southern Texas on the national map.
Willy the “little rodeo goat” has evaded capture since escaping from the town’s rodeo arena July 15, the Willacy County Livestock Show and Fair said on Facebook.
Willacy County is about 440 miles south of Fort Worth. Residents have spotted Willy hiding in cotton and sugarcane fields (and photos prove it), but no one has been able to capture it, officials said.
Whoever captures the goat is in for more than $5,000 in prize rewards, ranging from barbecue, beer, a haircut, tattoos, desserts, cash, and custom-made apparel to commemorate the town’s “goat chase” — all donated by local businesses.
“This has just gotten bigger than we ever dreamed. Our county is a really small county, about 20,000 population and a mostly agriculture, farming and ranching community,” Alison Savage, president of the Willacy County Livestock Show and Fair, told the Associated Press. “And we’re very much one big family. … So, we’re excited that everybody wants to find our goat.”
Rodeo officials don’t know if the goat is a buck or doe. It was with a mixed herd of bucks and does when it slipped out of the pasture.
“We think Willy was one of the does but we won’t know for sure until we find the little rascal,” officials said in a July 24 Facebook post.
Willy didn’t have a name when it first went missing — as most ranch goats don’t, officials said.
“Willy is not a pet. He is not someone’s show animal,” officials explained on Facebook. “When the rodeo goat story started to spread and so many people were out looking for it, we thought it would be fun to give our goat a name. And so Willy it was!”
Officials closed the prize pool July 22 after they caught wind that some people said they planned to find Willy and hang on to him while the prize pool continued to grow. Despite that hiccup, officials said they’re grateful for what the search has done for the town.
“What has become ‘the great goat chase’ wasn’t planned … but if it had been, we couldn’t have planned it better,” officials said. “At a time when the world is often scary, a little rodeo goat, now named Willy, has come along and united an entire community.”
The search has inspired residents to “focus on the good, and that even a nameless rodeo goat is important and worthy and plays a vital role in the world,” officials said.
“In this case, the role is reminding us to be kind. To be good neighbors. To help each other out. To support one another. And that everyone is worthy of being saved, being found, and being loved,” officials said.
This story was originally published July 25, 2023 at 5:26 AM with the headline "Willy the ‘little rodeo goat’ is lost in a Texas town — so the search is on, photos show."
