The annual Fayette County Junior Fair Showman of Showmen competition was held on Saturday afternoon with Madison Johnson taking the top prize.
Johnson — who won Overall Horse Showman on Thursday — is the daughter of Heath and Christy and has two younger sisters. This was her 10th and final year in 4-H where she has shown horses, beef feeders, sheep and hogs. Johnson has also been a member of the Junior Fair Board for four years.
Outside of 4-H, Madison shows her quarter horse regularly, is a recent graduate of Miami Trace High School and will be attending Wilmington College majoring in ag business in the fall. She took time following the competition to talk about her efforts for the last five years to claim the title of Showman of Showmen.
The top showmen at the Fayette County Junior Fair from each animal show is represented in the Showman of Showmen competition.
“This is my last year and this was one of my last goals for my 4-H career, this is something I have been working towards for a long time, so I am very excited,” Johnson said with tears beginning to form in her eyes. “I think everyone out here has done a really great job, I know a lot of people who have been in the competition before have been working hard. It takes time and practice and studying, it is hard to learn different animals if you aren’t showing them yourself. Over the years I have really grown to like the goats, which I didn’t see coming but I actually really enjoy showing them. I would like to thank my friends and family, anyone who has encouraged me to be out here working as hard as I do. I wouldn’t be out here if it weren’t for their help.”
The results of the Showman of Showmen competition: first place Johnson, second place Hunter Havens, third place Bryce Bennett, fourth place Lexi Hagler and fifth place Robert Bennett. Havens was the overall dairy beef showman, Bennett was the overall chicken showman, Hagler was overall swine showman, and Bennett was the overall rabbit showman.
Johnson also talked about her win on Thursday at the Fayette County Junior Fair Horse Show as the Overall Horse Showman — a title she has held for years.
“It is exciting to be able to do all of this again this year, it takes a lot of hard work and the horse I am showing this year has only been shown for a couple years so she is learning a lot of the showmanship maneuvers, so it was a great accomplishment to be able to walk out there and perform as well as she did on Thursday,” Johnson said. “This year in the horse department, we have a lot of younger members and they are all doing a really great job and they are going to keep learning and advancing from each other, so as long as they stick with it they are going to do some great things.”
The results of the Showman of Showmen competition: first place Johnson, second place Hunter Havens, third place Bryce Bennett, fourth place Lexi Hagler and fifth place Robbie Bennett.
