Tom Swain is seen by many 4-Hers and enthusiasts as the pinnacle of the agricultural portion of the Decatur County Fair.

Thursday night, it truly embodied the spirit of hard work and poise that 4-H imparts on youngsters as a mixed group with varied experience competed for the ultimate showmanship prize.

In the end, experience won out, and defending champ Emily Dieckmann walked away with her second consecutive trophy in what was her last year of 4-H.

Dieckmann said anything goes in competition, and while she was having what she believed was a banner year at the fair, she wasn’t necessarily a shoe-in for the repeat. The hours of hard work she put in were the same as last year, but, in the ring, all bets are off.

“My animals weren’t as cooperative this year, but I put in the same amount of work. It all really comes down to the attitude of the animals,” Dieckmann said.

However, she wasn’t the only Dieckmann coming home with a trophy.

Despite the strain of generosity that runs through 4-H, the Dieckmanns didn’t share the spotlight as Emily’s little brother Quentin Dieckmann took home the reserve trophy.

Emily Dieckmann said she wasn’t too surprised. He competed against her in Tom Swain last year, and throughout the week at the 2008 fair.

“He’s stiff competition. I’m always afraid he’s going to be sneaking up on me (in competition),” Emily Dieckmann said of her kid brother.

Quentin Dieckmann is a six-year 4-H member and has competed alongside his sister the entire time. It’s not just in the ring, she said. At home they constantly compete but also share ideas and help each other out.

“We’re always looking at animals and having conversations about what we would change about them if we could. We have conversations every night at the dinner table about animals and how to compete,” she said.

While having a top-notch competitor living under the same roof may have paid off for the Dieckmanns, each Tom Swain contestant showed their knowledge of each animal - Dairy, Beef, Sheep and Swine - and their deft ability to handle them, even if it wasn’t exactly their forte.

Two other 10-year members, Brad Harrison and Brianna Huber, as well as Huber’s little brother, six-year member Aaron Huber, competed along with the beef champion, five-year member Morgan Tomson, as well as swine champ Allison Smith and perhaps the biggest little surprise of all, two-year member Sammi Brewsaugh. The 10 year old shot up through the sheep ranks to take home reserve in Expert Showmanship and earned a spot amongst the older kids.

Sammi, who had to handle a beef cow so large she was eclipsed by it as she tugged it through the arena, said the experience was fun and challenging. Being only in her second year, she has plenty of experience to build on for years to come. Sammi said it took a lot of studying and hard work, but it paid off, and she couldn’t have made it without her fellow 4-Hers who offered help, encouragement and a friendly hug when she needed it.