Dairy cows from across the county were herded into the Decatur County Fair’s 4-H building on Tuesday afternoon and their young handlers shepherded them around the arena.

To kick the day’s events off at the dairy show, four students from the pre 4-H class walked their cows around the arena. The pre 4-H competition is strictly a learning experience for the young kids, for their inevitable futures in the competition.

The spirited calves belonging to the dairy contest’s eight competitors eventually all filed into the ring. Entrants into the dairy show included Brenda Crosby, Laura Crosby, Breanna Evans, Aaron Huber, Brianna Huber, Kayleigh Krieger, Nathan Nobbe and Neal Nobbe. Though there were only eight contestants, there were many more cows, and each 4-H student went through the day’s more than 20 events multiple times.

The eight entrants duked it out for dairy cow supremacy, and each of them walked away with a first place finish in at least one category.

Still, the showmanship competition was the main draw of the contest.

For the showmanship competitions, the 4-H students were judged on the animal’s condition and appearance. But the crux of the showmanship contest is the handler’s performance. They were judged on level of alertness, posing and stance of the animal and eye contact with both the judge and cow. Contestants were encouraged not to overwork the animal or let their attention stray.

The first winner in the Showmanship contests was 9-year-old Nathan Nobbe, coming away with a first place finish in the Rookie Showmanship category, with help from his calm and collected calf.

“We walked it every day,” Nobbe said of his animal accomplice.

Despite the training, the event weighed heavily on the young man.

“I was kind of nervous and excited,” he added.

The first year 4-H member said he plans to keep coming back, as long as they will let him.

A first-place finish in the Rookie contest allowed Nobbe to move on to the next phase of the competition, Junior Showmanship. In that category, Breanna Evans came away the winner. In the Senior Showmanship contest, Aaron Huber won.

The final contest of the day was in Expert Showmanship. It was a difficult decision for the judge, but in the end, she chose 18-year-old Brianna Huber for her poise and handling skills.

Huber, who was in a similiar spot last year, approached the competition with optimism, but did not really expect to win. Still, she was glad the way it turned out.

To prepare for the fierce competition, Huber said she spent hours with the winning animal every day, including many hours walking the bovine beast. She also spent much of her time studying how to make the animal better and increase her chances.