By Jordan Studer
The humidity was high but so was the competition during the Junior Fair Beef Show Tuesday evening. The battle for the title of Grand Champion in the Beef Feeder Show, Beef Breeding Show, and Market Beef Show alike was intense.
The hard work the competitors had put in the past year preparing was finally paying off. Though the heat was making some of the steers a little antsy, the cool breeze came from the competitors as they calmly tried soothing them.
Winning Grand Champion Beef Feeder for the second year in a row was Lori Millenbaugh, member of North Robinson Blue Ribbons 4-H Club. The Reserve Grand Champion Market Beef was Gracie Stirm, also a member of North Robinson Blue Ribbons 4-H club.
Millenbaugh explained that although she won Senior Showmanship for Market Lambs and Swine the day before, showing cattle has always been her favorite and what she finds she is best in. Millenbaugh explained that she is grateful for her older sister Jessica, who has helped get her to where she is at today.
“She’s helped me through a lot of stuff that I couldn’t do on my own. She’s been my teacher, (about) what to feed the cattle, how to handle the cattle, how to show the cattle. She’s been there through everything and has helped me a lot,” Millenbaugh explained.
When asking Millenbaugh what had been her biggest challenge in preparing her winning steer ‘Bernie’, for the fair, she referred to how during the show Bernie became restless.
“My biggest challenge was trying to get him to act right, but obviously that didn’t work out because he’s still a monster,” Millenbaugh laughed.
Taking home the title of Grand Champion Beef Feeder was Alex Rowlinson. Reserve Grand Champion Beef Feeder went to A. Rowlinson’s younger brother, and birthday boy, Kolin Rowlinson. Both A. Rowlinson and K. Rowlinson are members of Buckeye Stars 4-H club.
The two siblings explained that the moment they both were able to snag the titles of Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion, all of their long nights of working together on their Beef Feeders was finally paying off. A. Rowlinson admitted that at times working together to prepare their cattle was a process filled with plenty of sibling bickering.
“There was a lot of yelling and screaming between the both of us,” A. Rowlinson laughingly admitted.
Yet, despite the fighting, both Alex and Kolin were beaming as they took won their respective titles. Kolin explained what an amazing feeling it was that both he and his sister were able to take home titles and ribbons after all of their hard work.
The two’s teary-eyed mom, Kara Rowlinson, couldn’t contain her excitement for her children.
“Oh my gosh this is so exciting! They’ve worked so hard, this is all theirs. It’s a lot of work every day, two to three times a day, but it was a goal and we met it. Super excited, super excited,” Kara Rowlinson said.
Two Sulphur Springs Star Farmers 4-H Club members won the titles of Overall Grand Champion Female and Overall Reserve Grand Champion Female in the Beef Breeding category. Overall Grand Champion Female was awarded to Kylee Bloomfield. Bergan Leonhardt snatched the title of Overall Reserve Grand Champion.
Bloomfield, who also took the title of Overall Grand Champion Female last year, explained that it truly is a process to prepare her heifer in hopes of winning. Bloomfield described what a typical day for her and her heifer looks like.
“First, you have to rinse them twice a day and blow them out. Make sure they have clean feed and water, walk them and work their hair,” Bloomfield explained.
See below for a complete list of overall winners of the show.
Grand Champion Beef Feeder –Alex Rowlinson
Reserve Grand Champion Beef Feeder -Kolin Rowlinson
Grand Champion Market Beef –Lori Millenbaugh
Reserve Champion Market Beef -Gracie Stirm
Overall Grand Champion Female -Kylie Bloomfield
Overall Reserve Grand Champion Female -Bergan Leonhardt
Breeding Show Champions and Reserve Champions
Champion Angus Female-Lane Bauer, Reserve Angus Female-Levi Hartschuh
Champion Chianina Female- Reegan Leonhardt, Reserve Chianina Female– Bergan Leonhardt
Champion Dexter Female- Lillian Frazier, Reserve Dexter Female –Daniel Frazier
Champion Maine-Anjou Female -Kylee Bloomfield, Reserve Maine-Anjou Female – Zachary Harer
Champion Simmental Female-Bergan Leonhardt, Reserve Simmental Female- Lori Millenbaugh
Champion Crossbred Female –Victoria Hiler, Reserve Crossbred Female – Bergan Leonhardt
Skillathon Winners
Senior winner- Lori Millenbaugh
Intermediate- Kylie Bloomfield
Junior- Gracie Stirm
Outstanding Livestock Exhibitors
Gracie Stirm
Lori Millenbaugh
Kylee Bloomfield
Rate of Gain
Champion- Lydia Feik
Reserve- Mason Stahl
Beef Shoman Representative
Alex Rowlinson