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Goats teach people to surf - 22nd September 2023

All over the world, people enjoy surfing. But in California, one surfer is different. It's a small goat.

Kimberly Van Donsel's a tourist. She wanted surfing lessons. She looked online. She saw Chupacabrah, the goat.

Kimberly Van Donsel: "We saw it on the internet when we were searching because we wanted surf lessons and it just sounded so much fun. And we're used to working in agriculture. And I’ve honestly never seen goats surfing before. So yeah, and I raised goats for many years. So it's kind of a cool way to use them."

Dana McGregor teaches surfing. This was his idea. And now people call him the 'Goatfather'.

Dana McGregor: "You know, I think giving something or someone an experience that they've never had before is is pretty, is pretty powerful to me. And it's kind of what I live for, you know. It’s because I love surfing so much, I, I love giving people or animals the opportunity to do something they've never done before."

McGregor bought a goat. He wanted to clear his garden. He and the goat – 'Goatee' – became good friends. So, McGregor decided to take Goatee to the beach. The goat was a fantastic surfer! After that, McGregor tried other goats too. They could surf!

Dana McGregor: "Yeah, they're pretty, pretty amazing out there. They can just kind of. You know they got those hooves that just, yeah, cling to the board. Yeah, they got great balance.

McGregor started putting pictures on social media. Then his business started. People can buy a 'Surf Goat Day'. That's for a lesson and a ride with a goat.

Elizabeth French, a tourist, tried it.

Elizabeth French: "I think it kind of does bring a little bit of like, if the goat can do it, I can do it too! And don't dump the goat. So, I don't know, it was just a lot of fun, and something I would totally want everybody to experience."

Rebekah Abern's a tourist too. She tried surfing for the first time. The goat was a great example. It looked comfortable in the water.

Rebekah Abern: "The goat surfed way better than I did. Yeah, she was all about it. She had the positioning and you could tell she’d done it before."