He was judged the supreme champion goat at this year's Stanislaus County (Calif.) Fair, a feat that drew a steady line of admirers to his pen before the start of the auction.
It was a morning of mixed emotions for Kosky, as well as hundreds of other FFA and 4-H members who brought animals to the fair.
"It's exciting to have the supreme champion, it's the first time I've done that," the seventh grader said. "I've got other goats at home, but Hobby has become a friend."
There were plenty of sentimental farewells as kids from 8 years old to 20 took their animals to the auction ring to be sold.
It's an annual rite of summer, showing animals at the fair and selling them, finalizing a business transaction.
"You have to remember it's a business," said Austin Day, a Pitman FFA member whose crossbred steer was the fair's supreme grand champion. "I think everyone out here gets attached to their animal, but this also is about teaching us how to make good decisions."
The students keep financial records, accounting for feed and other expenses, but few of these students will earn a sizable profit for the months of work they have invested.
The champions are typically the exception to that rule.
Modesto, Calif., FFA member Brad Mendes, for example, got $20 a pound for his 274-pound supreme champion hog. He will use that $5,480 for college and perhaps to buy a few hogs.
"I think the judges saw that he didn't have any holes. He met or exceeded the standard in every area," said Mendes, who graduated from Modesto High in 2008.
Modesto dentist Bruce Valentine wasn't analyzing the structure of the hindquarters or color when he bid on Mendes' prize porker.
