On the final day of the 2022 Indiana State Fair, ten-year 4-H member Hadley Broadwater of Montgomery County took home the top prize of Supreme Champion in the 4-H Supreme Showmanship competition.
“It was a whirlwind of emotion between tears of joy, excitement and nervousness,” said Hadley immediately after winning the Supreme Champion banner.
Hadley just graduated from North Montgomery High School near Crawfordsville and is attending Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, Illinois, where she plans on being on their livestock judging team.
“It was really competitive,” said Hadley, who represented sheep and the market lambs, which are what got her to the competition. However, the competition is all about showing many different kinds of livestock – including cattle and hogs – to see who is the best 4-H member at showing livestock.
“The most challenging for me was the goats because I’ve shown goats before, but I got stuck out of luck with a breeding doe and she wanted to make a noise that the whole entire coliseum could hear,” she said.
What’s Hadley’s favorite memory during her ten years in 4-H?
“It’s hard to beat this one, but every time that I got to spend time with my family in a barn. My parents were divorced growing up and I got to show pigs with my dad and sheep with my mom,” says Hadley. “Just those road trips and spending time working with them is what I’ll truly cherish for the rest of my life.”
What advice does Hadley have for other kids who one day want to be the 4-H Supreme Champion Showman?
“Never take any moment for granted,” said Hadley. “It just feels like my whole 4-H career passed by. Every single moment matters.”
Most of all, Hadley recommends 4-H for all kids.
“4-H is the best thing to put your kids in,” said Hadley. “I would not have changed a moment of it and I’m so glad that I got a full ten years.”
Supreme Champion: Hadley Broadwater, Montgomery County
Reserve Supreme Champion: Kendall Leonhard, Madison County
Other competitors included:
- Gabrielle Tebo, White County
- Riley McGhee, Tippecanoe County
- Brooklyn Moore, Wells County
- Evan Trent, Boone County
- Jaci Tinsman, Randolph County
- Baylee Sliger, Wells County
Click BELOW to hear C.J. Miller’s radio news feature on Hadley Broadwater, the 4-H Supreme Champion Showman from the 2022 Indiana State Fair.
Your browser doesn’t support HTML5 audio
