The show arena was a full house Thursday evening at the Champaign County Fair’s 2012 King of the Ring Showmanship Contest.
Beef Showman Taelor Cox, 19, of West Liberty, was named the 2012 King of the Ring, ending his 4-H career on a high note. Cox says his 4-H career couldn’t have ended in a better way.
Listen to Cox talk about winning King of the Ring
Along with a market beef steer, Cox also showed a breeding heifer, market swine and dairy feeder at this year's fair.
Ten of the best showman at the Champaign County Fair competed to be King of the Ring. Cox was one of those contestants along with David Wilson (poultry), Megan Waldron (goat), Ian Lokai (dairy feeder), Maggie Neer (sheep), Cody Lensman (swine), Victoria Jenkins (horse), Caitlin Yoh (rabbit), Katy Starkey (dairy cow/heifer) and Grant Goddard (dairy steer).
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Watch competitor Ian Lokai show a goat to one of the judges
Cox came out on top with a score of 74 out of 90 points in the closest King of the Ring contest ever. The Champaign County Fair Board started the showmanship contest four years ago with the goal of getting 4-Hers into other barns to learn more about other species.
Each competitor is given three minutes per station to handle and show each animal before a judge. The judge awards points based on how the handling went, and whoever finishes with the most overall points earns the title: “King of the Ring”.
For winning the contest, Cox was awarded with a “King of the Ring” director’s chair, a rotating trophy and a $500 scholarship.
