MANSFIELD, OHIO (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW) — To close out the fair, a pair of talented showmen representing Shelby FFA took the top two spots in the Showman of Showmen competition.
This year’s winner, Kelsey Snyder, is a ‘24 Shelby High School graduate and will attend Lincoln Land Community College this fall to study ag business. Snyder is a member of Shelby FFA and the Rusty Riders 4-H Club, through which she shows sheep, goats, and pigs.
In the competition, participants had to show sheep, goats, hogs, alpacas, rabbits, poultry, steers, and horses and try to get the best score to win.
Snyder, having shown multiple species in her showing career, said that her favorite on the day was the sheep because that’s what she won pro-sheep showman in to be in the competition. Her least favorite was the chicken, stating it was giant and she couldn’t hold onto it.
Winning showmanship is no easy feat and takes lots of practice, and the advice that Snyder offered to those looking to succeed in showmanship was to stay calm. “Stay calm, obviously. The work starts at home. Get those animals broke, and be smooth in your motions—fast is slow in showmanship. Stay calm, but be efficient and get it done.”
Snyder thanked Trudy and Caroline Tilton for all of their work in putting on the competition and making it a big deal, and her parents for helping her out and getting her sheep ready for the show.
The other talented showman to round out the top two is Kennedy Studer, a student at Shelby High School.
Studer shows her market hogs through Shelby’s FFA Chapter.
Studer’s favorite animal to show in the competition wasn’t what she expected it to be. “I wish I could say pigs because that’s what I show, but I had one that wanted to fight me. I really enjoyed the cattle. I watched my sister grow up showing cattle for her whole life. And every time I get to do this opportunity, it makes me fall in love with it more.”
Studer’s least favorite animals to show were the alpacas and the chickens.
Having only started showing recently, Studer has progressed and excelled in her showmanship skills. “I started showing four years ago, and I kind of felt like I was behind, and I felt like everybody was ahead of me. But when you really start to realize like how easy it sometimes is to comprehend, just keep working. I used to work my tail end off every single night and just like thinking about what I can do better, how I can present myself better, and once you have it, you’ll have it,” Studer said. “Just don’t ever stop working and don’t ever get comfortable.”
Studer had a close group of people in her corner she wanted to thank for their help. “I’d like to thank my family for just supporting me this week, and I’d like to thank my little friend group called the Night Crew. They have been with me all week, and it’s just really fun to have a good friend group and some good family that supports you.”