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A near clean sweep

Obmann wins nearly every contest at Sac County Fair dairy show

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari Korey Obmann, 15, of Breda, an East Sac County FFA member, holds onto his cow during the Sac County Fair dairy show Friday. Obmann ended up winning four out of five contests.

SAC CITY — It was almost a clean sweep at the Sac County Fair dairy show Friday afternoon.

East Sac County FFA member Korey Obmann, 15, of Breda, won four of the five contests at the dairy show, taking first in the categories of intermediate calf, winter yearling, senior yearling and champion dairy.

Of course, part of the reason why Obmann did so well is because he was one of only two participants in the dairy show, the other being fellow East Sac County FFA member Grant Gansemer, 18, of Wall Lake.

Obmann said he considered his wins “pretty sweet,” because one of the cows he was showing was one his brothers didn’t want to show.

“The big black one we have there is kind of questionable because the other one was a pet to my brothers,” he said.

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari Johnathan Friedrichsen, 11, of Early, a member of the Wall Lake Bandits 4-H club, tries to move his sister's calf out of the cattle barn at the Sac County Fairgrounds Friday. Friedrichsen was attempting to wash the calf.

While his brothers were mad that Obmann didn’t show the one they wanted him to, he ended up with the last laugh, as it won both champion dairy and senior yearling.

“I’ve got bragging rights over my brothers,” Obmann said.

While there were only two dairy show participants this year, Obmann said that didn’t change anything when it came to preparing for the fair.

“You still got to wash them, clip them,” he said.

Obmann added the most helpful advice he received from the judge was how to prepare for the Iowa State Fair and what the judges there will be looking for.

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari Hailee Stonerook, 13, right, of Auburn, a member of the Wall Lake Bandits/Violans Visions 4-H club, walks her sheep on the Sac County Fairgrounds while her friend, Kennedey Clark, 13, of Lake View, follows her.

“She has a weak loin up top,” he said of his champion cow. “She might have some problems when she’s calving, but not a lot.”

His champion cow, as well as two others he showed Friday, were pregnant, which added another challenge to him showing them in the ring.

“The biggest thing here is they can get too stressed and they’ll abort the calves,” he said. “We try to keep them as calm as possible so they don’t do that.”

The only category Obmann didn’t win was showmanship, which Gansemer ended up winning.

His victory was one he wasn’t expecting.

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari Grant Gansemer, 18, of Wall Lake, shows his cow during the dairy show at the Sac County Fair Friday afternoon. A member of East Sac County FFA, Gansemer's cow won the showmanship award.

“This summer’s been kind of rough,” he said. “I’ve been rodeoing really hard, so I haven’t been able to spend too much time (with the cows), which is unfortunate. I knew that, coming in, I was going to make the best of what I had.”

“I didn’t actually expect to get showmanship,” Gansemer added. “But it’s nice to get it on my last year.”

With his showmanship win capping off his final year in FFA, Gansemer said there’s a lot he’ll miss about taking part in the fair every summer.

But the biggest, he said, is the atmosphere.

“It only comes around once a year, and after this, it’s gone,” he said. “You never get to be in an atmosphere like this again. The people, the environment.”

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari Grant Gansemer, 18, of Breda, holds onto his cow as she struggles with him during the dairy show at the Sac County Fairgrounds Friday. Gansemer, an East Sac County FFA member, won the showmanship award during the dairy show.

In all his years in FFA, the most important skill he’s learned is the work.

“It takes a lot of effort, and you’ve got to be dedicated,” he said.

The Sac County Fair continues today with the 4-H and FFA beef show, the antique tractor pull, “Iron Chef” competitions for 4-H’ers, seniors and juniors as well as the showmanship contest, which Gansemer earned a spot in with Friday’s win.

-Messenger photo by Peter Kaspari A curious goat stands on its hind legs in its pet at the Sac County Fair Friday afternoon.

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