By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
A loose lamb, an itchy beef feeder who didn’t want to stand still, and a very vocal pig all tried their best to throw a curveball into the Wood County Fair’s Bill Buchman Showmanship Sweepstakes Saturday night by doing something unexpected. All nine showmen, each representing a different species for the contest, stayed calm and focused.
In the end, Claire Lampe, a member of Simply Stock 4-H Club, was deemed champion showman. She was awarded a ribbon, a winning banner, and a Jamie Belleville memorial belt buckle, presented by his family.
The sweepstakes includes the top senior showman from each department: horses, dairy cattle, beef, dairy goats, market goats, sheep, swine, poultry and rabbits. All nine contestants exhibit their showmanship skills for all of the species except the department they represent. Scores are tallied, and the top two showmen earn champion and reserve champion, respectively.
When Claire found out earlier in the week that she would be representing the swine department in the Showmanship Sweepstakes, she was determined to do her best to win and continue a family legacy. Her brother, Carter, won the contest in 2023, and other family members have won the title over the years of the contest.
“I knew I had to put a lot of work in to try and win,” she said. Serious sweepstakes contenders spend quite a bit of time studying other livestock. They often receive help from other junior fair exhibitors who allow the contestants to work with their animals and absorb as much information as possible in a condensed time frame.
From a time standpoint, the task wasn’t exactly easy for Claire. She was splitting time at the beginning of the week between the Wood County Fair and the Ohio State Fair.
Though she practiced with the help of friends and other junior fair exhibitors, she was still most nervous about working with horses. After her experience competing in last year’s sweepstakes and not winning, Claire remembered that horses are big and different from showing the livestock she is familiar with. In the midst of Saturday night’s sweepstakes, she realized she had improved a lot from last year.
“It was really fun getting to compete with all the other animals that I don’t normally get to,” she said. “I’m super happy and proud of myself right now.”
Claire believes one of the most important keys to competing in the contest is to do the prep work with the other animals, she said.
However, she also recommends going in with a positive attitude. “Just enjoy it, because you’re not likely going to get to do a similar event,” she said.
Garrett Harrison, a member of Farmcrafters 4-H Club, earned Reserve Champion. He represented the beef department in the sweepstakes.
Other contestants who competed in the sweepstakes are listed, along with the department they represented and their junior fair affiliation:
Maddie Evans, horses, Horses R Us; Alexis Alt, dairy cows, Clover Kids; Emma Reid, dairy goats, Winning Edge; Jocelyn Belleville, market goats, Simply Stock; Andrew Feehan, sheep, Countyline Crew; Brooke Simon, poultry, Tontogany Hotwires; and Morgan Wiechman, rabbits, Beaver Creek Boosters.
