Sanders seals a victory

After many years of trying, Jacob Sanders' resilience paid off Wednesday night when he was named Ultimate Showman 2023. The title caps off his tenth and final year of 4-H and about his fifth time of competing in the Ultimate Showman competition. Sanders is the son of Crystal Kocher and Allan Sanders. He is a member of the Horse and Pony 4-H Club, but represented the poultry species while he was competing for the title. This year, the Ultimate Showman competition was judged by Hayden Berenda of Earl Park. To pick a winner, Berenda asked participants a series of questions throughout the show as they took turns showing a variety of species such as horse and pony, rabbits, swine, poultry, sheep, goats, dairy heifers and beef. Sanders said his favorite part about showmanship is learning about each of the animals.