Bonnell Built to Win

Winning the Ultimate Showman title is not an easy feat. When the competition is stiff, it takes a little something special to rise above the rest. On Tuesday, June 30, seventh year member Brody Bonnell proved he had just that. Ultimate Showman is a livestock competition where the top exhibitors from each individual species compete against one another to see who is truly the top showman. This year, there were six who vied for the title. During the Ultimate Showman competition, each competitor tried to prove that they were the top showman of horses, rabbits, swine, poultry, sheep, goats, dairy heifers and beef. Dr. Shireman explained what he was looking for with each of the species. Horses were listed to be shown first. However, due to the extreme heat, the horses were shown earlier in the day to limit their time at the fair. In the past, horse showmanship has been judged based on a simple walking pattern (walk, trot, back up, go forward) as well as some questions about their animal. The next species was rabbits. Dr. Shireman said that each person answered some basic body part identification questions and then they had a conversation about his expectations as well as some general helpful tips.