Jacob Petee of Mount Sterling is the 2015 Madison County Junior Fair grand showman of showmen.
(Posted July 23, 2015)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
Jennifer and Sam Petee of Mount Sterling were doubly excited to watch the grand showman of showmen contest unfold on Friday, July 17, at the Madison County Fair.
Their son, Jacob, 15, and their daughter, Alyson, 12, both qualified to compete. The event pits the top showmen from each animals species against one another in a showmanship showdown. Seven youths competed.
When Alyson qualified on Monday of fair week as the top equine showman, Jacob helped to connect her with friends showing other species so she could practice for the big event. Then, when he qualified on Wednesday, Alyson returned the favor, helping him with horse showmanship.
“I was honored to see how well they worked together,” said Jennifer Petee.
Jacob admits there was some friendly sibling rivalry.
“It was pretty cool. We’re both pretty competitive. We used it to do better in the contest. It’s not like we were cut-throat; we were joking around with each other,” he said.
The collaboration paid off as Jacob took home the grand showman of showmen title. Ironically, he said he was most nervous about showing the horse.
“Horses are a lot different than pigs, obviously,” he said. “Horses have always been my sister’s thing. She helped me get ready, and I ended up doing pretty well with the horse.”
Jacob said he has had the grand showman title in his sights for years. He came close to qualifying at previous fairs, but this year was his first time making it into the grand showmen contest.
“I’ve been working for it for quite a long time,” he said. His advice to future grand showman hopefuls: “Work hard and be confident.”
Jacob is a member of the Madison-Plains High School FFA chapter and Green Range 4-H Club. He has shown hogs for 11 years and started showing goats two years ago. He will be a sophomore at Madison-Plains this fall.
The other showman of showmen competing in this year’s grand showman contest were: Clayton Gallagher, Buckeye Rangers 4-H Club, sheep; Chris Young, Madison-Plains FFA/Buckeye Rangers 4-H, goats; Zane Davison, Madison-Plains FFA/Green Range 4-H, beef; Brooks Barber, Fairfield Rascals 4-H, rabbits; Olivia Finke, Eager Achievers 4-H, dairy; and Marina Sweet, Buckeye Rangers 4-H, poultry.
