BUCYRUS — Making a lap around the show arena with a championship ribbon and a steer is becoming a habit for Kendal Widman. Three years after she won her first Steer Show, Widman took home top honors again, this time with Remi.
“It feels pretty good. All the hard work did pay off in the end,” said Widman, a member of the Sulphur Springs Star Farmers 4-H Club and a Colonel Crawford student. “Every day we’d rinse them in the morning, work their hair, feed them. Do the daily routine and make sure they were always cool.”
Now into her fifth year of her 4-H career, Widman appeared just as calm and collected as her black steer, Remi, as they strolled around the show arena Tuesday evening for the Market Beef Show. She credited his calm demeanor to the work the pair put in throughout the summer to prepare Remi for the shock of the show ring.
“We work with him so therefore he’s not bouncing around and stuff. You want to make sure he gets familiar with your voice and with you,” Widman said. “You have to work with him a lot to get him there.”
The Widman family’s success when it came to showing steers didn’t begin with now two-time champion Kendal. In fact, it was her brother Adam that started them on this path.
“My brother showed steers before I did,” Widman explained. “I just kind of fell into there and got to show. It’s a cool experience.”
Adam won the steer show in 2013 and the brother and sister went head-to-head in the final round in 2015. The result of that year swung in Kendal Widman’s favor. As a 13-year-old, Widman still has plenty of time to continue her winning ways, especially as she prepares for the market hog show on Thursday.
Allison Lust and her steer, Larry, won Reserve Champion for Market Beef.
“It was surprising,” Lust said. “It was really unexpected. This year is the one that we didn’t really think he’d do very good. He was like spunky and stuff.”
Lust is a member of the Dairy Maids and Gents 4-H Club and will be a freshman at Wynford High School this fall.
Seth Lohr, another Dairy Maids and Gents 4-H member, was named Grand Champion of the Born, Bred and Raised classes. Corin Feik of the Liberty Leaders 4-H Club was selected as Reserve Champion.
Lori Millenbaugh, a North Robinson Blue Ribbons 4-H member, was named Grand Champion Beef Feeder and Lohr received Reserve Champion recognition.
Carson James of Liberty Leaders won Champion Angus Female in the breeding show with Lane Bauer of Dairy Maids and Gents getting reserve honors. Levi Hartschuh won the breeding show’s Overall Grand Champion Female and Bergen Leonhardt was selected as Overall Reserve Champion. Hartschuh is a member of the Lykens Champions 4-H Club and Leonhardt hails from Sulphur Springs Star Farmers.
“The quality of the cattle here have been truly outstanding,” said Jake Boyert, the steer show judge. “That just goes to show you how much time these exhibitors have put in to making these cattle look the way they do out here. I know the time and the effort spent in the barn every night and every morning just getting these cattle ready.”
