By Jordan Studer
CCN Reporter
BUCYRUS —A large crowd filled the show arena Tuesday evening as the Junior Fair Beef show began. The faces of the exhibitors were filled with determination and tranquility; it was finally time to display what they had poured out so many hours preparing for.
As the arena continued to see differing classes of beef feeders, the judge for the evening, Jake Boyert, repeatedly expressed how impressed he was by the competition brought to the ring. The night progressively brought more competition, but
Taking home the title of Grand Champion Market Beef was steer Remi, exhibited by Kendall Widman. Widman is an incoming 7th grader at Colonel Crawford and member of Sulphur Springs 4-H Club.
Though still young in her showing years, Widman has previously won the title of Grand Champion Market Beef back in 2015 for the first time, actually beating out her older brother in the final drive.
Widman explained that she was just as excited to win this year as she was the first time, “It feels pretty good, all the hard work did pay off in the end.”
Throughout the night, many steers were getting antsy and began acting up, but Widman’s steer remained calm and controllable. When asking Widman what it took to get Remi so calm, she explained that it did not happen overnight and required hard work and persistence.
“We work with him so therefore he’s not bouncing around and stuff and you want to make sure he gets familiar with your voice.”
A unique moment occurred to end the evening as all the exhibitors that came back for the final drive for the Overall Grand and Reserve Market Beef, happened to be female. When asking Widman how it felt to be a part of a final drive dominated by females, she said she didn’t even realize but excitedly said, “It feels pretty cool!”
Making her first appearance as Reserve Grand Champion Market Beef was upcoming ninth grader of Wynford High School, and 4-H member of Dairy Maids and Gents 4-H Club, was Allison Lust.
Lust explained that this year marks her sixth year showing steers, but this was her first big overall win. She continued to say that her feelings when she won were ones of complete surprise and happiness.
“Holy crap, I can’t believe I actually did it!” Lust described her thoughts when she was named Reserve Champion Market Beef.
Senior Showmanship winner for both Beef Feeders and Beef was Lori Millenbaugh, recent graduate of Colonel Crawford High School and current member of North Robinson Blue Ribbons 4-H Club. When naming Millenbaugh Senior Showman for the Beef Showmanship, Boyert expressed his appreciation for the hard work Millenbaugh had put in to get to that point.
“You can tell she’s done her homework. Her cattle both times have come out here, they know what to expect and they know what to do. So my compliments once again, for doing an awesome job at home with it and for executing that out here in the ring. I can tell you’ve been working hard,” Boyert said.
Preparing her animals for their respective shows is way more than homework, according to Millenbaugh, it’s a way of life.
“I just put a lot of work into this stuff … I learned a lot about how smooth I am and how I show, from my sisters and my mom and my grandpa taught me about everything I know about showing,” Millenbaugh explained.
When asking Millenbaugh how she remains so calm and one with her cattle, she replied with the simple explanation that it just comes naturally to her.
“It’s just the natural knack I have within myself that I do so well. It takes something within to really love what you are doing and enjoy it. If you don’t have that natural knack, then you’re never going to want to do it,” Millenbaugh said.
Millenbaugh will be the beef representative at the Showman of Showmen on Friday evening.
The results from the evening can be found below:
Senior Beef Feeder Showmanship:
Grand Champion- Lori Millenbaugh
Reserve Champion- Alex Rowlinson
Intermediate Beef Feeder Showmanship:
Grand Champion- Corin Feik
Reserve Champion- Keith Ehman
Junior Beef Feeder Showmanship:
Grand Champion- Haley Kovach
Reserve Champion- Andrew Harer
Senior Beef Showmanship:
Grand Champion- Lori Millenbaugh
Reserve Champion- Zack Harer
Intermediate Beef Showmanship:
Grand Champion- Kylee Bloomfield
Reserve Champion- Kendal Widman
Junior Beef Showmanship:
Grand Champion- Colton Worden
Reserve Champion- Andrew Harer
Grand Champion Beef Feeder: Lori Millenabaugh
Reserve Champion Beef Feeder: Seth Lohr
Overall Grand Champion Female: Levi Hartschuh
Overall Reserve Grand Champion Female: Bergen Leonhardt
Born Bred & Raised Grand Champion: Seth Lohr
Born Bred & Raised Reserve Champion: Corin Feik