2008 Woodie Awards
Experts and novices compete at 85th Little International
Horses, sheep, beef and swine judged along with the humans showing them.
Amy Poppinga
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: News
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"He wouldn't stay moving; he wanted to stand," said Sharkey, a sophomore agronomy major.
Sharkey's troubles continued when the judge asked him to pen his swine. Perhaps his Duroc, like many of the livestock at the 85th Little International, was showing what Sharkey would call his "ornery side."
Sharkey was one of 146 collegiate participants, while 1635 high school students competed in this year's Little I. The event, which is the largest student-run, two-day agricultural exposition in the U.S., was held April 4 and 5, with most of the over 50 events taking place in the Animal Science Arena.
Major award winners were Tyler Fruechte, Round Robin Champion and Highest Point Total for a Freshman; Amanda Nolz, Highest Point Total for an Upperclassman; and Caleb Englin, Round Robin Reserve Champion.
Fruechte felt pretty good about his double win. "My brother did it the previous year, and it was kind of my goal to get two in one year," he said. "Everything was really tough, and there was really good competition through everything."
Despite his best efforts in the Novice Swine Showmanship, Sharkey did not place. Still, he had positive feelings about the event and might try to show a different species next year.
"I was leery going into it because I've never done it before," he said. "I'd say it's a good experience for people just to get involved with something, get out of the dorm and meet some new people."
Senior Becca Lutz, on the other hand, championed both high fashion and hair styling for livestock by winning the Lamb Lead and Beef Fitting for heifers.
In Lamb Lead, contestants try to coordinate their outfits, which should be made of wool, with their lamb's blanket, and contestants must know a little about the wool industry. Each organization or club involved with Little I has a contestant; Lutz represented Collegiate 4-H.
Part of Lutz's outfit was an orange 80 percent wool jacket, and her lamb wore a matching orange blanket with a human's brown wool hat tied under the chin. Another contestant in the Lamb Lead wore 100 percent wool boxers.
For Beef Fitting, Lutz had to "train" her heifer's hair to look nice. To do that, she had to trim some hair on the head, belly and a little on top, and she put some adhesives, like hair spray, and foam mousse, in the heifer's hair. In the end, the heifer should look like a large square block.
"It was very surreal to win both," she said. "I knew there was a lot of good competition, and I really, honestly didn't think I had a chance."
Lutz also placed third in the Beef Showmanship competition. During this event, participants - in their black ties, white shirts and black pants - lead their heifer or bull in a circle around the ring and stop the animal to stand in profile when asked by the judge.
Myles Nielson, a sophomore animal science major, and his bull, Delmer, placed sixth in the event. Nielson was pleased with his performance, but nerves got to him during the event.
"[I was] nervous because there were lots of people and lots of new faces that I've never seen before," he said. "Some family came, and that always adds some pressure."
The next competition on April 5 was the Sheep Showmanship Finals. In front of the red barn backdrop and with the buzz of people talking and laughing in the background, participants circle their sheep around the ring and line them in a row when prompted by the judge.
Sophomore Lindsey Doering, who has shown animals for 14 years, won third place for her sheep showing skills. She was impressed with her ewe for its behavior in the ring because only a few nights before, the animal was not so cooperative.
"The ewe had not been around humans, so it was jumpy and didn't know how to react," she said. "The ewe's head would tremble, and when you touched her, you could feel and tell that she was very nervous."
One of the final competitions of the night was the Horse Showmanship Finals. For this competition, the judge picks a pattern for the participant to lead the horse through.
Jenelle Bussard, a freshman animal science major, won the competition and the wooden chair given to individual champions, despite her case of nerves.
"My heart was pounding and almost coming out of my chest," she said. "I was watching people and picking out the good and bad, wondering how I would do."
The final competition of the evening was the Round Robin event. All the champion and reserve champions of the showmanship competitions come back, and each one shows every species - dairy, beef, horse, swine and sheep - for the event. Fruechte won the event and Englin was the reserve champion.
Despite a few animals escaping their handlers during competitions and a few other difficulties for participants, the weekend went well, said Jared Sanderson, the 2008 assistant manager and 2009 manager of Little I.
"I couldn't have asked for a better weekend or a better staff," he said. "It was perfect."
Results from 2008 Little International
2008 Hardest Worker Champions:
Dairy: Brittany Nussbaum
Sheep: Caleb Englin
Beef: Amanda Lindsey
Swine: Jerod Matthews
Horse: Nina Rohlf
Lamb Lead: Tyler Fruechte
2008 Collegiate Judging Champions:
Dairy Cattle Judging
Champion: Kaitlin Van Eck
Reserve Champion: Laura Perli
Dairy Foods
Champion: Jerod Matthews
Reserve Champion: Amanda Nolz
General Livestock
Champion: Ann Kolthoff
Reserve Champion: Ashley Pigors
Horse
Champion: Eric Gjerde
Reserve Champion: Jon De Jong
Meats
Champion: Emily Evans
Reserve Champion: Christa Larson
Crops
Champion: Greg Caleman
Reserve Champion: Amanda Nolz
Natural Resources
Champion: Steve Resler
Reserve Champion: Eric Gjerde
Farm Business Management
Champion: Chris Thoene
Reserve Champion: Jerod Matthews
Floriculture
Champion: Amanda Nolz
Reserve Champion: Emily Evans
Nursery Landscape
Champion: Jerod Matthews
Reserve Champion: Emily Evans
Wool Judging
Champion: Jerod Matthews
Reserve Champion: Amanda Nolz
Machinery Sales
Champion: Olaf Haugen
Reserve Champion: Jerod Matthews
Agriculture Product Sales
Champion: Laurie Zubke
Reserve Champion: Amanda Nolz
Agronomy Shows
Champion: Jerod Matthews
Reserve Champion: Tyler Fruechte
Livestock
High Point Freshman: Tyler Fruechte
High Point Upperclassman: Amanda Nolz
Champion Round Robin Showman: Tyler Fruechte
Reserve Champion Round Robin Showman: Caleb Englin
Beef
Showmanship
Champion: Amanda Nolz
Reserve Champion: Amanda Lindsey
Bull Fitting
Champion: Amanda Nolz
Reserve Champion: Amanda Lindsey
Heifer Fitting
Champion: Becca Lutz
Reserve Champion: Ann Kolthoff
Swine
Showmanship
Champion: Nicole Rasmussen
Reserve Champion: Ben Velleck
Sheep
Showmanship
Champion: Tyler Fruecte
Reserve Champion: Caleb Englin
Fitting
Champion: Tyler Fruecte
Reserve Champion: Berienne Bangert
Horse
Showmanship
Champion: Jenelle Bussard
Reserve Champion: Katie Stratmeyer
Fitting
Champion: Amanda Schiefelbein
Reserve Champioin: Nina Rohlf
Dairy
Showmanship
Champion: Brittany Nussbaum
Reserve Champion: Allison Stevens
Fitting
Champion: Nicole Stevens
Reserve Champion: Brittany Nussbaum
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