Carter Kuipers claims grand master showman title
Photos by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – Carter Kuipers, 16, of Byron shows a beef animal during Friday’s grand master showman competition.
Carter won the title against other top livestock showmen from this week’s fair.
The grand master showman is one of the most prestigious titles at the fair. The competition features the master showman in nine different animals: horse Western, horse English, dairy goat, meat goat, sheep, swine, llama, dairy cattle and beef cattle.
Carter showed pigs and beef qualified for the competition after winning the beef master showman title.
Carter’s mother Vicki (Miller) Kuipers won the grand master title in the late 1990s. Carter said he enjoys the challenge of showing the nine different animals.
“It’s fun and it’s exciting,” he said on Friday night after winning the competition. “You can get out there and show what you know.”
Emma Kron, judge of the event, took the cumulative scores of the participants, and she said Carter Kuipers emerged as the winner.
“He was consistent across all the species,” she said.
Meganne Moore, 18, of Albion leads a horse in the first part of the grand master competition. Moore was named the reserve grand master. She qualified after winning the Western horse event.
Meganne has been showing animals at the fair since she was a 5-year-old Cloverbud. She first showed a chicken. She has made it to the grand master event twice before. Her second-place showing is her best finish.
“I was calmer this time,” she said. “I wasn’t as scared of the animals.”
The competition requires people to show dairy and beef animals, that can top 1,000 pounds.
This is Meganne’s last year in 4-H. She heads to Geneseo State College this fall to major in biology with a pre-vet minor.
The master showmen included:
- Carter Kuipers, 16, of Byron, representing beef
- Phoebe Allen, 15, of Albion, representing sheep
- Brilyn Rebisz, 19, of Bergen, representing dairy goats
- Carissa Klossner, 16, of Holley, representing llamas
- Evelyn Paratore, 12, of Corfu, representing meat goats
- Kennedy Murphy, 13, of Albion, representing English horse
- Ruth Kuipers, 14, of Byron, representing pigs
- Georgia Baxter, 14, of Churchville, representing dairy cows
- Meganne Moore, 18 of Albion, representing Western horse
These four show meat goats, including from left: Ruth Kuipers, Kennedy Murphy, Evelyn Paratore and Brilyn Rebisz. The participants needed to show off the animals’ best characteristics and also answer questions about the animal and breed from the judge.
Carissa Klossner of Holley maintains eye contact with judge Emma Kron while Carissa showed a horse on Friday.
Phoebe Allen of Barre keeps a dairy animal under control during the grand master showman competition.
Georgia Baxter of Churchville answers a question from the judge when the grand master participants show meat goats.
Evelyn Paratore of Corfu, left, and Kennedy Murphy of Albion get ready to lead beef animals into the show arena. The two are more accustomed to showing other animals. Evelyn qualified after winning the meat goats master showman and Kennedy won for English horse.
Ruth Kuipers of Byron leads a llama in the show ring. She qualified as the top pig showman.
Brilyn Rebisz of Bergen shows a meat goat during the competition. She closed out her 4-H career on Friday. The grand master competitors all had to be nimble in the show ring leading animals from under a 100 pounds to well over 1,000.
