PHOTOS: Kids show off their sheep at Kansas State Fair

Congratulations to Brecken Nelson for being named the Champion Senior Sheep Showman!

The Kansas State Fair offers many activities and attractions. It might be popular music, a thrilling ride on the midway, or a delicious funnel cake. But the heart of a State Fair is the celebration of agriculture and young people.

State Fairs were originally called Agricultural Fairs. They began in an era when most people lived in the countryside and raised crops and livestock for their livelihoods. Today’s State Fairs feature young people displaying science projects, crops they have grown, and livestock they have raised.

Most State Fair livestock contests judge the quality of the animal as a food animal or as a breeding animal. Showmanship is a competition that evaluates the performance of the individual exhibitor showing the animal, not the animal itself. The judges look at how the young person prepared their animal, how they control it in the ring, and how they present the animal's best features.

The product in the ring is the culmination of months of preparation and work. The exhibitors have raised their animals from a young age, prepped them, trained them, and often fallen in love with them. This is a family activity that would not be possible without the support of family and the 4-H and FFA sponsors and leaders who have led and trained these competitors.

The following photos offer a glimpse of the 2026 Senior Sheep Showmanship contest. You will see the animals being groomed, the intensity of the contest for the participants and their families, as well as the joy of victory.

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