The Supreme Showman: Northwestern student is one of the youngest to ever win prestigious title

Jul. 14—Tessa Ortman knows how to bond with pigs.

First, hang out with them so they get to know you. Second, oil them up once in a while and let them out in the sun to tan for a few minutes. They really like that.

But the quickest way to a pigs heart? Marshmallows. They love eating marshmallows.

Ortman, a 14-year-old student at Northwestern School Corporation, has been learning the tricks of the pig trade since she was 5 years old. That's when she joined Mini 4-H and started getting used to bonding and showing all kinds of farm animals.

And Wednesday evening, all the experience paid off when Ortman beat out four other competitors to win the title of Supreme Showman at the Howard County 4-H Fair.

The 4-H Livestock Supreme Showman competition represents a kind of animal decathlon in which participants put their animal-handling skills to the test showing goats, cows, pigs, horses and sheep. Many consider the competition to be the ultimate livestock test.

The five kids qualified for the competition by winning best showman earlier in the fair for one of the groups of animals. On Wednesday, they had to bring all their animal-handling knowledge to the ring to prove their prowess and savvy on properly showing not just one kind of animal, but five.

Ortman won her spot in the competition after landing grand champion showman for beef. She also showed pigs and sheep during the fair.

That meant she felt good handling those animals during the Supreme Showman competition. The horses and goats, not so much.

In a twist of irony, though, it was the cow that gave Ortman the most trouble. While leading the steer around the pen with a rope, the calf had a mini temper tantrum, spinning around and jumping up and down and generally causing a ruckus.

But Ortman handled it like a professional and quickly had the animal under control.

Jeremy Armstrong, the judge of the competition who watched the whole scene with a critical eye, said the way Ortman handled the cow and the other animals is even more impressive considering her age.

He said it's rare for someone as young as Ortman to have such confidence and experience showing animals.

"Most of your supreme championship winners, at least from my experience in the past, have been your juniors and seniors in high school," Armstrong said. "But when you're comfortable with that animal, it really helps you get off to a good start. She maintained that really good start all the way through to the end."

Ortman said there's no doubt that starting so young working with animals made her such a good showman. She said her family has a hobby farm with cows and pigs, so she's always been comfortable around them.

But Ortman wasn't taking any of that for granted heading into the final competition.

She said after qualifying through the beef competition, she traveled to farms in the area so she could work with animals she didn't have and with which she wasn't familiar. Ortman also worked around the clock with her own animals to prepare.

Her dad, Kenny, said that spirit of dedication is what ultimately led to her victory on Wednesday.

"It's practice, practice, practice for hours and hours," he said. "She put the work in."

And even though Ortman is one of the youngest to take home the title of Supreme Showman, it's a victory she's had her eye on ever since the day she heard about it after joining Mini 4-H.

Why? Ortman said she's not sure. She just wanted to win it. And now that she has, she still isn't done. She said she wants to compete again, but next time would like to qualify with a different animal.

Like a pig. After all, Ortman knows what they like, and they're her favorite animal to show.

"I just like showing pigs," she said. "We've gone to a lot of national shows this past year, and it's just been really fun."

Showman judge Armstrong said he tipped his hat to Ortman for her performance Wednesday, but he also praised the other five competitors for their hard work and professionalism.

He said that's something he's come to expect at the Howard County 4-H Fair since he started judging 21 years ago.

"These five youngsters did a whale of a job," Armstrong told the audience after the show. "These are five hardworking individuals out here who represent Howard County well."

Carson Gerber can be reached at 765-854-6739, carson.gerber@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter @carsongerber1.