4-H members showed different livestock — swine, beef, dairy, goat and sheep — in order to be selected as the best showman. Thursday, June 29, 2023.
HANCOCK COUNTY — After 90 minutes of working to keep sometimes-unruly animals on their best behavior, Claire Bishop won Grand Champion honors Thursday night at the Supreme Showmanship contest at the Hancock County 4-H Fair.
Amelia Stone won Reserve Grand Champion, continuing a four-year streak in which she or her big sister Morgan, 19, have placed within the top two of the annual contest for senior 4’H-ers.
The Supreme Showmanship contest is always a highlight at the fair, where the Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion from various livestock showmanship contests throughout the week gather to determine the best of the best — showing beef cattle, dairy cattle, Boer goats, swine and sheep.
Claire was a bit of a wild card going in, having placed fifth in beef and sixth in swine this week.
She knew she had to place first or second in the Boer goat showmanship competition earlier in the day Thursday to qualify for the supreme round, and ended up clinching Reserve Grand Champion honors.
Thursday’s Supreme Showmanship contest wasn’t easy for her or her fellow competitors, who fought the humidity as well as some cantankerous animals.
One competitor practically caught her sheep in mid-air when it tried to dodge past her, after spending a few minutes running rogue around the ring. The crowd responded with a round of applause.
Unlike regular showmanship contests, 4-H’ers aren’t working with their own animals in the supreme contest. Local farm families loan their animals, which are randomly assigned to each competitor through a random draw.
A different livestock judge surveyed the group in each contest. Spectators watched as each judge methodically made his or her way around the arena, the show barn completely silent except for when the animals voiced their impatience.
Just like unpredictable toddlers, some animals stood silently at attention while others made it more challenging for the showmen, each of whom did their best to position the animals just so while planting their own feet firmly on the ground to keep them still.
It was a hot night for the competitors, each dressed in denim jeans and long-sleeve button-down shirts.
Judges grilled each of them about the various types of livestock, looking for not only those who could best handle the animals but who knew the livestock well.
Thursday’s contest marked the 32nd Supreme Showmanship contest at the local fair.
It was the second year in a row that Claire has come away with Grand Champion honors.
“They really made me work for it this year,” she said of the animals she showed, including one tenacious dairy calf who wasn’t in the mood to cooperate. Claire responded by planting her feet wide and keeping a firm grip around the calve’s neck, asserting control over the sizable animal.
“The judges aren’t looking for perfection, but someone who can be patient and persistent and who can overcome adversity,” she said.
Amelia practiced the same patience when the pig she was showing broke loose and darted around the ring.
“I knew I just had to keep calm and collected,” she said.
The New Palestine High School senior — who turned 17 on Wednesday — got a big hug from her mother, Marla, after the contest. Both had happy tears in their eyes.
Showing livestock means a lot to the family of six, who show dairy cattle nationally.
About a dozen members were there to see Amelia win Reserve Grand Champion in showmanship Thursday night, including some relatives who flew in from Arizona.
Amelia showed dairy cattle, swine, sheep and goats at this year’s county fair, where she won Reserve Grand Champion in both dairy and swine. She’s won a ticket into the Supreme Showmanship contest the past three years, winning Grand Champion in 2021.
