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With fair winding down, supreme showman named

By Frances Borsodi Zajac 4 min read

Paul Keslar’s name rang out once more Friday night at the Fayette County Fair as he received the title Supreme Showman. Cathy Brady, extension educator for Penn State Cooperative Extension and a member of the Supreme Showman Committee, made the announcement about 4:30 p.m., just before the start of the 4-H Livestock Auction in the Indoor Arena.

Keslar, 18, of White also won 4-H grand champion heifer and open class Supreme Champion Female at beef cattle judging, reserve grand champion market lamb, grand champion market goat and grand champion market swine in competition this week during the 2005 Fayette County Fair.

“I guess this puts an end to an awesome week,’ said Keslar.

Meanwhile, Kelsey May, 14, of Mill Run took Reserve Supreme Showman at the competition, one of the most prestigious of the fair. Her older sister, Bethany, won Supreme Showman last year and her brother Daniel won in 2003.

“I’m just following them – learning from what they taught me,’ she said.

In the Supreme Showman competition, 4-H youths are judged on how well they handle and show animals in seven species: horse, beef cattle, dairy cattle, market goat, dairy goat, market lamb and market swine. The youths who compete are selected as grand champions for each of these species during individual competition for their animals during the fair.

This year’s competition for Supreme Showman was tight. In her announcement, Brady said, “You guys were awesome today. It was so close – literally points away.’

This year’s competitors included:

? Kelsar won as grand champion showman for market lamb. He is a 2006 graduate of Connellsville Area High School and will be a freshman at Penn State Fayette this fall. Keslar has been in 4-H for nine years. This is his first time in the Supreme Showman competition.

? May won as grand champion showman for market swine. She is a ninth grade student at Connellsville Junior High East and has been in 4-H for six years. This is her first time in the Supreme Showman competition.

? Shauna Couch, 19, of Hopwood is a sophomore at Penn State Fayette and has been in 4-H for 11 years. She won grand champion showman for horse. This is her first time in the Supreme Showman competition.

? Zach Brewer, 16, of Mill Run is a junior at Connellsville Area High School and has been in 4-H for six years. He won as grand champion showman for dairy cattle and this is his second year in the Supreme Showman competition.

? Pierce Willson, 16, of Fayette City is a junior at Frazier High School and has been in 4-H for seven years. He won as grand champion showman for market goat and this is his first time in the Supreme Showman competition.

? Maggie Petruska, 18, of Smock is attending Waynesburg College where she is a sophomore studying pre-veterinary medicine. She has been in 4-H for 11 years. She won for grand champion showman for beef cattle. This is her second time in the competition; she previously competed in 2004.

? Maria Sholtis, 19, of Uniontown is a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh and won grand champion showman for dairy goat. She has been in 4-H for 11 years. This is her third time in the competition. She won reserve Supreme Showman last year.

The competition began at 10 a.m. Friday. Ed Regula, chairman of the Supreme Showman Committee, explained the rules to the youths. Each was to show his or her own animal in the competition that he or she won. Six other animals would be available for each competition, and the other contestants would draw numbers for one of these animals.

The competition started in the Horse Arena where horses where shown and then moved to the Indoor Arena for dairy cattle and beef cattle judging. The last stop was the Show Arena, where swine, market goats, lambs and dairy goats were judged.

Brady announced the names of the winners just before the start of the livestock auction, where state Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff, and state Rep. Peter J. Daley (D-California), head of the House Agriculture Committee, greeted the crowd and made remarks.

Wolff said, “It’s my pleasure to be here. What a lovely fairgrounds you have.’

He also noted the fair is made possible “through a lot of hard work and dedication by people who put in a lot of hours.’

The Supreme Showman winners each received a silver plate, purchased by Blaney Farms.

Senior members plaques also were presented to 4-H livestock youths in their final year of 4-H, including Josh Beeman, April Black, Brooke Bryner, Staci Hixson, Rebecca Giles, Daniel Kooser, Kalie Minick, Joshua Morris, Maggie Petruska, Maria Sholtis, C.J. Stouffer and Michael Zuzak.

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