MANSFIELD – Hayden Harriman knows that sometimes it takes sacrifice to rise to the top. The rising sophomore quit the football team this year to focus all his energy on showing livestock.
That sacrifice paid off Friday when he was named Showman of Showman at the Richland County Fair.
“I feel great because I’ve worked all summer for this,” said Harriman, a member of the Clear Fork FFA chapter.
Each exhibitor in the showmanship competition qualified for the competition by earning the top rank within their species earlier in the week. Harriman earned his spot showing goats.
Runner-up Ethan Staley, also with the Clear Fork FFA, qualified with market lambs. Third-place winner Jace Craner, with Richland County Livestock Lovers 4-H Club, qualified with swine.
Craner is attending Huntington University in Indiana. Staley attends Northwest College in Wyoming. Both are majoring in agriculture business.
Other showmanship finalists included Hayden Williams (beef steer), Cameron Guegold (horse), Katrina Beer (rabbit) and Ryleigh Chase (poultry).
“I try to make the animals look the best they can and make sure the judge likes what they look like and how I show,” Harrriman said, when asked about his showmanship strategy.
Being named Showman of Showmen wasn’t Harriman’s only victory this week. The Clear Fork FFA member also raised this year’s Grand Champion market lamb and goat.
After high school, he hopes to pursue a career in big grain farming.
Crawford County native Levi Hartschuh judged the goat portion of the competition. He said he was impressed with all of the showmanship candidates.
“I kept walking around trying to see if I could stump them, move in a certain way or anything, but they were great across the board,” he said.
Staley agreed.
“The top three, four of us was pretty tight, in my opinion,” he said.
Competitors aren’t allowed to work with their own animals during showmanship contests, so proper animal handling technique is crucial. The ability to stay calm under pressure is another vital skill.
“There are times when the animal will act up and being able to remain calm and just work like you have all summer long is really the big thing,” Hartschuh said. “They can tell how you feel. If you’re having a bad day, they’ll have a bad day”
Dedication and hard work is another crucial component for success.
“The people that surface to the top are going to be the ones that work all summer,” Craner said.
