Kaylee Nesbitt wins grand master showman title at the fair
Photos by Tom Rivers
KNOWLESVILLE – Kaylee Nesbitt, 17, of Lyndonville is presented with the grand master showman trophy after winning the competition on Friday evening.
The grand master showman title is one of the most prestigious 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.
Kaylee qualified for beef. This was her third time in the competition. She also shows horses in the Western events.
Kaylee said the grand master showmen is a difficult test, with each master showman having to show all the animals. The master showmen learn from each other and other 4-Hers with experience in the animals.
“You ask a lot of questions of people who have done it before,” she said.
Kaylee is planning to major in animal sciences this fall at SUNY Cobleskill. She would like to eventually be a large animal veterinarian.
These master showmen lead dairy goats in the show ring in front of judge Alecia Spoth. The front three from left include Kaitlin Bennett, Kaylee Nesbitt and Meganne Moore.
Spoth, the judge, said Kaylee Nesbitt maintained an overall composure with all of the animals, keeping eye contact with the judge and was in control of the livestock.
Spoth said she was impressed with all the master showmen, who demonstrated an expansive knowledge of the animals.
The master showmen included:
- Kaitlin Bennett, 12, of Barre, representing dairy cows
- Kaylee Nesbitt, 17, of Lyndonville, representing beef cattle
- Meganne Moore, 15, of Albion, representing English horse
- Olivia Kroening, 16, of Medina, representing Western horse
- Brilyn Rebisz, 16, of Bergen, representing dairy goats
- Carter Kuipers, 13, of Byron, representing pigs
- Celes Paratore, 13, of Corfu, representing meat goats
- Danielle Schmidt, 16, of Medina, representing llamas
Carter Kuipers was the reserve master showman. Here he is guiding a pig in the show ring.
Brilyn Rebisz leads a llama in the ring. Some of the animals were led by halter or with bare hands.
Olivia Kroening keeps a sheep under control. The master showmen needed to be nimble in the ring and respond to sudden movements from the animals.
Danielle Schmidt leads a steer to the show ring in the livestock arena. Showing the steer was outside Danielle’s comfort zone. She earned a spot in the competition after winning the llama showmanship event.
Kaitlin Bennett enters the show ring with a dairy animal. She was comfortable with dairy after winning that event earlier in the week.
Kaylee Nesbitt, left, and Meganne Moore keep tabs on the pigs they were showing in the grand master showmen competition, which lasted more than two hours and featured nine different types of animals. Judge Alicia Spoth is at right.
Celes Paratore walks a steer around the show ring. The beef animal gave her some fits with unpredictable jumps and uncooperativeness.
