Howard Reigns as Supreme Showmanship Champ
Published: Friday, June 27, 2025
Holly Howard faced unfamiliar animals with just minutes to prepare and still emerged as supreme showman for the third time at the Allen County Fair.
Only two people have ever won the title three times. Howard, a member of Allen County 4-H, joined this exclusive group on Sunday.
Howard earned her third consecutive crown in the Showman of Showmen competition. The sweepstakes-style event tests exhibitors across multiple species. She will represent the county at the regional supreme showmanship contest on Sept. 27 during the DeKalb County Free Fall Fair in Auburn. The event brings together top showmen from Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio and follows a format that mirrors the county-level sweepstakes.
The sweepstakes features top showmen from nine divisions: beef cattle, dairy cattle, dairy beef, sheep, swine, da-
iry goats, meat goats, horses and llamas. Each participant must show a species they do not currently exhibit. Judges evaluate showmanship skills across all species, with the overall winner announced at the end.
"You're not going to win this competition if you don't know them," said Roger Clark, who directs the Showman of Showmen and serves as president of the Allen County 4-H board.
"They can ask, you know, like, let's say for dairy, which animal has the most butterfat in the milk? You know, if you didn't know that that's Jerseys, then you won't have a clue."
Clark said details matter.
"Like with dairy, you have to stagger the back legs depending on if it's a heifer or you stagger them one way," he said. "If it's a cow you stagger them the other way. Beef cattle, those are staggered. Dairy beef, they used to always be straight in the back. And now some kids stagger them, some don't, and those are just little things that you have to learn."
"So, this is really a tribute number one to just their skill around animals in general," Clark said.
Sunday's meat goat judge asked where Boer goats came from.
"They came from South Africa," Clark said. "Well, you know, some of these kids said France and Spain and different things like that."
Beyond technique, Howard shared her approach to the challenge. She said the format leaves little time for preparation.
"We had maybe two minutes to work with them before we walked in the ring," she said. "We'd never seen those animals before."
The event felt like cramming for a final exam no one told you was coming. Preparation beforehand and strong fundamentals were essential going in.
"I try to stay calm, collected, don't let anything faze me," Howard said.
She admitted the sheep didn't make things easy.
"It wasn't cooperating and was not the brightest tool in the shed," she said. "Everybody's not going to be perfect in every species, so I just have to give it my all."
"You don't beat up animals. You've got to treat them well," Howard said.
The only other three-time winner is Micah Malcom, who earned the title from 2016 to 2018.
Representing Allen County again, Howard said the honor is rewarding but comes with pressure.
"You got to be prepared coming in," she said.
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