Alexis Schwartz was named the overall showman winner in the rabbit category Monday morning during the first day of the Fayette County Junior Fair.
Schwartz placed first in the senior grades 11 and 12 in the beginning of the day at the rabbit barn.
“I’m really happy,” Schwartz said after receiving her trophy and ribbon for overall showman. “I work really hard with my rabbit, and we have a lot of fun at the fair, so I’m very happy we did so well.”
The showmen were judged by Allen Gerhart. Gerhart spent time with each contestant, asking questions about their rabbits and everything the contestants were supposed to learn throughout their project, such as the breed, stages of life, the gestation period, how many different breeds, what the most important nutrient a rabbit needed is, and what the life cycles are.
Gerhart also spent time teaching each contestant some of the finer points of showing rabbits. The most frequent thing Gerhart helped the contestants with was how to flip their rabbits.
“The thing about this project and this contest is that I’m not the judge here, I’m the participant,” Gerhart said. “The kids are the judges, they’re teaching me. I’m learning here, and I’m always in awe of these kids. They work so hard on their projects and they’ve done so well. They all deserve a great round of applause and a lot of recognition. It’s always so much fun to come out here and see how much they’ve learned.”
Schwartz was followed by Aubrey Schwartz in second place, from intermediate grade 7, Derek Hall in third place, from intermediate grade 8, Kaitlyn Woods in fourth place, from senior grade 10, and Abi Mick in fifth place, from junior grade 6. Others who qualified for the overall showman contest were Dylan Page from intermediate grade 9, Lindsey Stump from junior grade 5, Hillery Jacobs from junior grade 4, Laurel Marting from beginner grade 3, and Kassidy Hoppes from novice (any first year grade 5 and up).
