Grand Champion Carter Lampe (B), 16, of Bowling Green, representing the Beef Department, holds onto the championship belt buckle that he won while Reserve Champion Noah Lang (C), 16, of Luckey, representing the Goat Department; Ella Recker, far left; and Emma Reid, far right, look at the look at the belt buckle during the awards ceremony of the Showmanship Sweepstakes competition on Sunday at the Wood County Fair.
Scott W. Grau| Sentinel-Tribune
By Sydney Leyerle
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
After winning the Beef Showmanship earlier in the week, Carter Lampe is taking home the Grand Champion prize for the 2023 Wood County Fair’s Showmanship Sweepstakes.
Each year the showmanship winners from nine livestock departments participate in a Showmanship Sweepstake where they get to show every animal except for the one in the department they are representing. The departments include horses, beef, market goats, dairy goats, dairy cattle, poultry, rabbits, sheep and hogs.
Participants only have a few days to learn how to show the different animals, which Lampe said is quite the challenge.
“I was kind of rushing around to find some people that I know and find people who will give me quality information along with the right skills that I need to know,” he said.
For each animal, participants are judged on the overall handling of the animal as well as their knowledge.
Matthew Kennedy, who was the judge for the market goats and the dairy goats, said he thought all the participants did well in their showing. Despite how stressful it can be, he said it was clear they all put in a lot of work.
Showmanship, Kennedy said, is all about the participant and how much work they put in. He said no matter how great the animal is, the participant still must do a lot of work and spend time practicing.
“You could have the most un-structurally sound goat and still place first if you’ve practiced and you’ve studied and you’ve worked with that goat. And that would be basically the same for any species,” he said. “That’s all on the kid.”
Even with all the work he put in, Lampe said it was still a little stressful as there is a lot he doesn’t know about some of the animals.
“It was a little nerve wracking, going up to some of these animals I’ve never shown before and learning everything in the span of three days,” he said. “It was kind of nerve wracking because I studied and I learned a lot, but there was still a lot I didn’t know so it was just kind of, I was kind of uncertain about what would happen.”
Lindsay Stevenson Frankart, who was the 1999 Showmanship Sweepstakes winner, said her time in the event allowed her to learn more about animals and meet new people.
“It was a great opportunity to kind of stretch myself as a 4-Her and a showman, to learn about other animals and then to get to know different 4-Hers that showed those animals because they had to teach me,” she said.
For the first time ever, former Showmanship Sweepstake winners were asked to come back and were honored during this year’s event.
Frankart has continued to stay involved in 4-H and has even had the chance to judge for the fair. However, she said coming to watch as a spectator, both for the sweepstakes and for her own kids, has offered her a very different experience.
“I’m nervous for the kids out there and I remember how much fun I had with the other showmen,” she said “So, it brings back so many memories.”
Becoming Grand Champion has been something Lampe said he has been working toward for a long time. He said hearing his name announced as the winner brought him so much relief in knowing that his hard work had paid off.
“This is the goal that I’ve been working for, for really my whole life,” he said. “This is the moment I’ve dreamed of.”
