It’s the battle of the goats, in Riverside Park.

The Riverside Park Conservancy held the closing ceremony for its 2021 Vote-the-GOAT ceremony on Tuesday, announcing the results of an election that lasted through the summer months to choose the favorite of five goats living in the northernmost section of the park. Chalupa, the runner-up in the previous GOAT vote, was named the winner using the new ranked-choice voting system; newcomer Ms. Bo Peep finished in second.

The Conservancy brought the goats to Riverside Park from their home farm in Westchester for the summer to rid the park of invasive plant species. Goats can eat up to 25% of their body weight each day, allowing them to serve as highly effective landscapers. The goats were welcomed in with a Running of the Goats in July, in which 24 goats were led down the length of Riverside Park up to 125th street, where the “fabulous five” were escorted into their new summer home.

2021 marked the second time that goats were brought in; the “Goatham” initiative began in 2019 but was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Park visitors were able to visit the five goats, Chalupa, Ms. Bo Peep, Skittles, Mallomar, and Buckles throughout the summer and observe them munching on weeds in a fenced-in enclosure that featured placards about the invasive plants like Poison Ivy and Porcelain Berry that the goats were brought in to eat. Visitors were encouraged to vote on the Conservancy website for their favorite goat, using a new online ranked-choice voting system allowing them to rank up to all five candidates.

In the closing ceremony, Conservancy President and CEO Dan Garodnick recapped the goats’ work, while State Assemblypeople Daniel O’Donnell and Linda B. Rosenthal gave short speeches to celebrate the initiative. The event was well attended, and conservancy staff gave out free goat-themed tote bags and sold t-shirts. George Shea, MC for the annual Nathan’s Hotdog Eating Contest and co-founder of Major League Eating, introduced the goats in his trademark verbose and rapid style worthy of the world’s premiere competitive eaters. Garodnick announced the election results and presented each goat with a trophy and celebratory feeding.

Skittles, from the Eat Your Greens Party, was favored thanks to her reputation as a local and strong performance as a finalist back in 2019. Billed as a “seasoned park veteran,” she was labeled the favorite by the New York Times at the election’s outset. She faded down the stretch, however, and finished a disappointing third. Skittles was eager to leave the ceremony after results were announced, and did not linger for pictures as long as her peers.

After Buckles and Mallomar were eliminated as well, placing fifth and fourth respectively,  the competition came down to Hillclimbers for a Better New York’s “wildcard rookie” Ms. Bo Peep and the hardworking 2019 runner-up Chalupa, from GOG (Grand Old Goat) Party. 

Bo Peep, an idealistic newcomer who promised “to turn New York onto a fully organic, pro-biotic, vegan, plant-based diet,” stirred controversy during the race with her aggressive campaigning, including an attack ad claiming that Skittles and Buckles were “in the pocket of Big Pesticide.” Although this strategy may have bolstered her campaign, pushing her past some established favorites, it was not enough to overcome Chalupa’s 526 votes, roughly half of all votes cast.

All photos by Sam Seliger for Bwog.