Best in Show at the P.C. Fair

The 106th Phillips County Fair got underway Thursday, August 5, with the 4-H and FFA Swine Show.

There was a total of 47 entries into this year's show over three divisions.

In the Senior Showmanship Division, Kennedy Koss was the winner. Marshall Caves was second, and Lauren Tuss was third.

The 17-year-old Koss will be a junior this year at Malta. This is her ninth year showing animals at the fair, and she is a multiple-time winner in various events.

When asked what questions the judge had asked her, she said, "The one question she asked that nobody knew the answer to was what is the swine of excellence? I found out later that if you place in the top 10 in carcass judging, your hog is in the swine of excellence."

Koss also said the judge asked her what she likes and dislikes about her hog.

"I said I wished he was bigger chested and a little heavier set. I do like how muscular he is and his length or how long he is."

The judge commented on Koss' showmanship saying, "She did a really good job of keeping her hog close to me. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get away from her. She was always right there in my face and always making eye contact with me."

In the Advanced Junior Showmanship Division, Regan Stuart came away with the win. With Laytin Erickson in second, and Kendall Clausen in third.

In the Beginning Junior Showmanship Division, Trevor Knowles won the first-place trophy, followed by Amus Blunt in second, and Ainsley Erickson in third.

For the Market Swine Division, Marshall Caves won the Grand Champion and Ellis Carnahan won Reserve Grand Champion.

Caves is a 15-year-old, soon-to-be sophomore, from Saco. He has been showing at the fair for four years.

The Beef Show got started on Friday morning with 40 animals shown between the showmanship/market, Breeding Beef, and Dairy Showmanship/market categories.

There were three heats of the Senior Showmanship Beef Division, containing a total of 21 contestants.

Carson Ottinger won first-place with Jaycee Erickson second, and Beau Simonson third.

Ottinger is a 15-year-old from Malta heading into his sophomore year. This was his fifth year showing at the fair, and is a previous winner.

When asked if any of the judge's questions threw him, he said, "Oh yeah! She asked what the names of the four chambers of a ruminant's stomach were called. Nobody knew the answer to that one."

When asked what he thought the key was to winning in showmanship, Ottinger said, "You have to make sure you work with your animal a lot so it knows how to set itself for the judge. I have worked with my animal every day for a couple of hours at least."

In the Advanced Junior Showmanship Division, Macey Blunt won the first-place trophy. Kennedy Simonson got second, and Shelbi LaBrie won third.

In the Beef Market Division, the Grand Champion was awarded to Darden Anderson. Spencer Gibbs was awarded Reserve Grand Champion.

In the Breeding Beef/Market Division, the Grand Champion was Kennedy Simonson, with Reserve Grand Champion going to Sandra Sones.

The Dairy Cow Division was won by Hazel Sones in both Showmanship and Market.

In the early afternoon on Friday, the show moved to the small arena for both the Sheep and Goat Divisions.

There were four sheep and two goats shown.

Kennedy Koss won the Senior Showmanship Division for sheep.

Jayda Wyse took first-place honors in the Advanced Junior Showmanship for sheep and Alex Oshio took second.

Gabe Oshio took first-place in the Beginning Junior Showmanship Division.

In the Market Division for sheep, Kennedy Koss was awarded Grand Champion and Jayda Wyse took the Reserve Grand Champion.

In Goat Showmanship, Alex Oshio won first place in the Advanced Junior Division and Gabe Oshio took first in the Beginning Junior Division.

Alex Oshio also took the Grand Champion in the Dairy Goat Division.

In the Round Robin competition, both the Senior and Junior winners came out of the Horse Showmanship Division.

The Senior Division Round Robin was won by Brylee French. French is a 16-year-old from Malta getting ready to start her junior year of high school.

Brylee said she has been in 4-H for seven years and has shown animals in several different categories.

When asked if any of the judge's questions got her, she said, "Yes, the parts of the hog. I didn't know where the Boston butt was."

The Junior Showmanship Round Robin was won by 14-year-old Lela Domire. Domire is set to be a freshman at Malta in the coming school year and has been in 4-H for six years. She has also shown a number of different animals at the fair.

Domire was asked what questions caught her out. She said, "What are the primal cuts of the lamb? I had no idea, lamb chops were all I could think of."

In the 4-H Small Animal Show, the results are as follows:

Dog Showmanship; First Place - Emma Ereaux, Second Place - Denvyr Tuss.

Dog Grand Champion – Denvyr Tuss

Reserve Grand Champion – Emma Ereaux

Cat Showmanship; First Place – Sadie Lamoreau, Second Place – Nolan Moore

Grand Champion Cat – Nolan Moore

Reserve Grand Champion Cat – Sadie Lamoreau

Rabbit Showmanship; First Place – Alex Oshio, Second Place – Nolan Moore

Rabbit Grand Champion – Alex Oshio

Reserve Grand Champion – Nolan Moore

Poultry Grand Champion – Branton Moore

Reserve Grand Champion – Hudson Moore

All of the kids did a wonderful job of showing and taking care of their animals. When you add in the heat that we have all experienced over the past month or so, they have done an exceptional job. Already looking forward to next year!!