BUCYRUS — The Showman of Showmen competition at the 163rd Crawford County Fair was well represented once again, with 10 individuals vying for the title.
The competition features the top showman from each of the species that can be taken to the fair — horses, dairy, goats, dairy beef feeders, lambs, alpacas, beef steers, swine, rabbits, and poultry. In the competition, each entrant must show one of each of the species aside from the one they won showmanship with. They are then rated against all the other showmen, and the one with the lowest score at the end wins.
This year’s winner, Sydnee Corwin, represented dairy.
“I haven’t really been aiming for showman of showmen, but after dairy beef and after I realized that I taught Natalie what she needed to do and she won, I realized that I still had another species and opportunity to compete against and with all of my friends,” Corwin said. “I thought it was going to be a really interesting experience and I really like to surround myself with animals because it’s something I want to do in the future, so I really wanted to involve myself in Showman of Showmen. After they said Natalie and Levi, I didn’t expect to be in first place at all.”
Corwin is a 10th year 4-H member, and aside from dairy heifers, she also exhibits dairy beef feeders, and Holstein steers.
“The one that I’ve been showing the longest is actually dairy beef feeders, so I’m actually more comfortable with that and I like to teach other people,” Corwin said. “The girl who represented dairy beef feeders in the competition, I am the one who taught her for her first year of showmanship and she beat me — I got reserve to her.”
In the competition, Corwin said that the hardest animals for her to show were goats and lambs because she thought she would be good at it, but once she got in the ring, she realized that it was a lot harder than what she expected it to be.
Her favorite animal to show ended up being the alpaca because she says she has never really experienced anything like that, and to get 2nd place made her feel good and like she knew what she was doing and talking about after spending one day learning it.
When asked what advice she had for younger 4-H members, Corwin said, “Always push to be the best, but also encourage others. Work hard with your animals, always care for them, and make sure you attend to them and make sure that you build a trusting relationship with your animal so that when you do get in that ring, you know that you’re going to do well and to have that confidence that you will do well.”
Coming in second in the competition was Levi Hartschuh, an eighth year 4-H member, and he exhibits goats, lambs, and market beef steers. Hartschuh represented the goat department in the competition.
“My favorite species to show is goats because they’re almost like a companion animal, like a dog. To me, the goats just come naturally when I show them,” Hartschuh said. “I’ve been very lucky to have some help from families around us who used to show goats and were very successful when they showed, so I’m very successful when I show because I’ve had their influence and help.”
During the competition, Hartschuh stated that the species that he struggled with the most were rabbits.
“Getting them out of the cages and showing them isn’t hard, but when it comes to the questions asked about the animals, that’s where I struggle because I don’t know those animals so I don’t know all of these facts that the kids who show them every year do,” Hartschuh said.
His favorite to show was the lamb because they are quite similar to goats.
Hartschuh has been working to make it to Showman of Showmen throughout his path to this year’s fair by working with all his animals, many long nights, and early mornings. Hartschuh made it to Showman of Showmen last year where he placed third, this year he got second, and next year he is gunning for the title of Showman of Showmen.
When asked what his advice was for younger 4-H members, he said, “I just want to say to the kids that are growing up in 4-H is to work hard for things here at the fair. The fair is not won in what you put into your animal — feed or how much money you’re spending — the fair is won in the hours you’re putting in at home.
“Showmanship is a big thing because I think that it says everything about the animal,” he continued. “If you have a great showman on that animal, you have a great animal because that animal knows how to set itself up the best that it can be because of the great showman that it has on it. So, definitely work hard and put in the late nights and early mornings before the fair to have success at the fair.”
Below is the list of showmen and what species they represented:
Kalyn Carroll — Horses
Sydnee Corwin — Dairy
Levi Hartschuh — Goats
Natalie Goldfuss — Dairy Beef
Katelyn Wagner — Lambs
Taylor Garrison-Wise — Alpacas
Allison Lust — Beef Steers
Blake Beckley — Swine
Madison Tieben — Rabbits
Bryce Tieben — Poultry