Harcourt rises to the occasion as 2023 Supreme Showman

Ethan Harcourt lifts the Putnam County Supreme Showmanship trophy shortly after earning the title Thursday evening.

Banner Graphic/JARED JERNAGAN

Through seven species of showmanship Thursday afternoon and evening, the moment was never too big for Ethan Harcourt.

The 10th-year 4-H’er was the picture of calm, not overmatched by any of the challenges of the grueling competition.

Once the outcome was out of his hands … that’s when Harcourt got a bit nervous.

“That has probably got to be one of the worst moments of my life, just that pause for 20, 30 minutes is like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I want to know who it is, I get anxious,” Harcourt said afterward. “I think a lot of us do, even past supreme winners.”

As Tom Petty said, the waiting is, indeed, the hardest part.

In the end, Harcourt had no reason to worry, and one of the best moments of his life followed.

Harcourt, representing the sheep barn, was soon named the 2023 Supreme Showman of the Putnam County 4-H Fair. Fellow 10-year member Clay Haddon, representing beef, was the Reserve Supreme Showman.

“It’s the best feeling you’ll ever feel,” Harcourt said.

The son of Chris and Rashell Harcourt and brother of Kolby and Chase, Ethan’s 4-H projects include swine, beef, goats and sheep.

In the first moments after his name was announced, Harcourt didn’t seem to know what to do with himself. His hands immediately went to his sweat-drenched hair, his mouth hung open.

Still seemingly in a daze, he looked up at the Supreme Showman trophy with impossibly wide eyes as he accepted it from Queen Katie Fry and Third Runner-Up Boston Clark.

After holding it aloft for a few seconds, he had bigger business to attend to, running across the arena to hug parents Chris and Rashell through the high gates that line the show ring.

“My mom and dad — before I go off about anything else, I’d love to thank them,” Harcourt said. “I love everything they’ve done for me. They have always pushed me. Even when I’m mad at them or whatever, they know what’s right and they know what’s wrong.

“The first thing I saw once I won was them.”

It was quite the show of emotion for Harcourt, who had been so unflappable for the hours leading up to this moment. It wasn’t so much that the recent South Putnam graduate dominated the show ring Thursday night as much as he lulled it into submission, with each succeeding animal he showed — horse, llama, swine, sheep, dairy cattle, goat and finally beef — seeming to take on his own stone-faced demeanor.

After all his hours of preparation, though, Harcourt had no reason to be agitated.

“Whenever you talk about preparation, it’s not this week during the fair,” Harcourt said. “It’s a year before, at least. For kids that are going to back in this competition next year, they’re going to be busting their butts tomorrow. It starts over again. When I saw Handley Everman win (in 2022) I was like, ‘This is where I want to be.’ Like I said, it’s the best feeling you’ll ever feel.

“The preparation is unbelievable,” he continued. “I mean hours and hours and hours of preparation — probably thousands at least over my 10 years here. Rome wasn’t built in a day, that’s what I have to say about it.”

Harcourt will carry that work ethic with him to Wabash College in a few weeks, where he plans to study business management and play football.

Haddon’s path to the Reserve Supreme Showman title is similar to Harcourt’s.

“It’s very important to me to have this accomplishment because I started out, pretty far down, I could probably say, in the food chain in 4-H,” Haddon said. “I showed animals — didn’t really know what I was doing and didn’t have a lot of help. And as I’ve grown through the years, I’ve had more and more people join in and jump in to help me, and that means a lot to me.”

The son of Jerrod and Melissa Haddon, Clay is now the elder statesman of a family that’s building a livestock legacy in Putnam County 4-H, with siblings Hunter, Bailey and Emmie (also a finalist on Thursday) coming behind.

However, Clay’s “family” goes beyond his parents and siblings.

“I’ve got some of the best help, in my opinion, in the state and in the world, possibly, to help me,” Haddon said. “It’s like a big family whenever I get with all my help. I can’t really call it help, it’s my family. Whenever we come together, it’s more like a big family, and we’re all together showing and having a good time rather than just having people there helping me.”

It’s a phenomenon that was palpable following the competition, with seemingly no one in a hurry to leave the ring, waiting to visit with Harcourt and Haddon, as well as the other competitors.

Two more of the seven competitors were 10-year members, with Sydney Moore representing horse and pony and Keegan Gibson representing goats.

The field was rounded out by Emmie Haddon (dairy), Katie Jo Hodgen (llama and alpaca) and Danica Overshiner (swine).

“I feel like it’s a good thing for the 10-year members to make it,” Haddon said. “I told the little girls earlier, they’re very good showmen, and I feel like they can come back in the next year, and they can win it and take it too. But I was very happy that me and Ethan were able to accomplish this.”

“All my friends and competitors, I’m just so glad they’re here to support me, really,” Harcourt said. “It’s one of the best feelings, knowing that you’re supported and loved and cared for. Them being able to support you. I’m going to shout out Olivia Richardville here. She was over there helping me, busting my butt with horses, and, heck, it’s awesome. All this hard work and whatnot that all these people have helped me with is something that has paid off a tremendous amount.”

It’s a community that doesn’t just show up after the awards are handed out, but beforehand when kids are trying to make preparations.

“The night before this event is my favorite night of the fair,” ringside emcee Rick Johnston said prior to the announcement of the winners. “The building that you’re in right now is the only building that has its lights on. And at any given time you can walk in this arena and find five to six previous supreme showmen working with the future. That’s pretty special.”

“Last night was no different,” he continued. “Not only were there past supreme showmen, there were parents, the same great parents of some of the kids in here that are going to compete tonight. That says a lot about who we are. I’m proud, as you should be.”

High on that list of former winners is 2014 Supreme Showman Lauren Johnston Flanders, who in spite of no longer being a Putnam County resident, was back to organize this year’s event.

All of it promotes a special atmosphere that the 4-H’ers seem to recognize.

“Everybody throughout my 10 years, you know who you are,” Harcourt said. “There’s a lot of them, so I don’t want to name them all out, but those people on the back scenes, they’re the ones who made this happen, not me. I’m out there representing them.”

Putnam County Supreme Showmanship winners

2023: Ethan Harcourt, Sheep
2022: Handley Everman, Goat
2021: Bree Mahoney-Sutherland, Goat
2020: Seth Ariens, Dairy
2019: Katie Fry, Beef
2018: Grace Fry, Sheep
2017: Brynne Shuee, Swine
2016: Jessica Hays, Goat
2015: Nolan Ensor, Swine
2014: Lauren Johnston, Sheep
2013: Preston Porter, Dairy
2012: Emily Gilley, Horse & Pony
2011: Logan Pell, Horse & Pony
2010: Garret Porter, Dairy
2009: Brock Jones, Sheep
2008: Kyle Alcorn, Beef
2007: Dakota Parent, Sheep
2006: Kalen Brattain, Swine
2005: Jordan Berry, Sheep
2004: Neal Knapp, Sheep
2003: Ashley Clifford, Beef
2002: Dustin Thornberg, Swine
2001: Rhonda Gottschalk, Beef
2000: Keri Jackson, Swine
1999: Tiffany Tippin, Beef
1998: Ryan Hendricks, Sheep
1997: Tammy Gottschalk, Swine
1996: Kyleen Jensen, Beef
1995: Paul Hodgen, Beef
1994: Sara Stanley, Beef
1993: Mike Jackson, Swine
1992: Robert Hodgen, Beef
1991: Jim Bowling, Swine
1990: Doug Parent, Beef
1989: Brent Branneman, Swine
1988: Jenny Merkel, Beef
1987: Jenney Jessup, Goat
1986: Jeff Stanley, Sheep
1985: Charles Poynter, Swine
1984: Tony Stanley, Beef
1983: Brian Williams, Beef
1982: Andy Beck, Beef
1981: Brad Davies, Swine
1980: Lisa Sutherlin, Horse & Pony
1979: Jeff Davies, Swine
1978: Jake Zaring, Beef
1977: Gary Williams, Beef
1976: Brad Cash, Dairy
1975: Jerry Torr, Beef
1974: Gordon Smith, Swine
1973: Phillip Fry, Swine
1972: Terry Tippin, Dairy
1971: David Bruner, Sheep
1970: Beverly Hurst, Sheep
1969: Steve Judy, Dairy
1968: Kent Brattain, Swine
1967: Ken Carrington, Beef
1966: Robert New, Sheep
1965: Ralph Fry, Dairy
1964: Keith Carrington, Beef
1963: Bill Judy, Dairy
1962: Noble New, Sheep
1961: Tommy Hendricks, Sheep
1960: Frank Hartman, Beef
1959: Ted Britton, Beef
1958: Neil Irwin, Swine
1957: Byron Gough, Beef
1956: Bowen Akers, Beef
1955: Charles Nicholson, Dairy
1954: Bernie Harris, Sheep
1953: Gordon Whitman, Beef
1952: Ken Torr, Beef