Last year Olivia Jacquin showed the reserve champion steer at the Washington Town & Country Fair and promptly set her sights on winning the grand champion in 2018.On Thursday, Aug. 2, her hard work and determination paid off when her 1,320-pound steer, Oscar, took top honors in the market steer show.The 14-year-old exhibitor, of Marthasville, is a member of the Go Hog Wild 4-H. She is the daughter of Mark and Vicki Jacquin.The steer was purchased in the Blur Ribbon Steer Auction Saturday by a group, Striving for Excellence, composed of 27 companies and individuals. The group bid $5 a pound, paying $6,600 for the steer.Steer show judge Phillip Martin selected Oscar out of a field of 47 steers split into eight weight classes. Jacquin’s steer was in Class 7.“It is a really high-quality, well-fed and well-finished calf,” said Martin. “It’s something the folks can be proud of.”“It feels good,” said Jacquin of winning. “This is very cool and I am really excited.”Jacquin worked with Oscar about two hours per day, used a special diet, and walked and washed him daily.She offered this piece of advice to younger exhibitors, “Don’t let it push you around — let him know who is the boss.”The reserve champion was shown by Adam Gerlemann. The steer was in Class 6 and weighed 1,290 pounds.The Gerlemann family owns a small registered herd of cattle and the teen was given an option to raise Roscoe as a bull or steer.Judge CommentsIn general, Martin noted the exhibitors lived up to the high expectations of the Fair steer show.“The show lived up to the billing,” he commented. “The steer show at this Fair has been a spectacle talked about for years in the circles I navigate in.”Martin stated that the beef industry of show cattle has shifted to “heavier, hard-muscled” cattle.“But this Fair didn’t change,” he said. “The folks in this county know how to feed and how to finish.”Martin, of Meadville, added the Washington Fair is among the top tier of fairs within the state.Class WinnersThe first-place winners in each class for the steer show are as follows:Class 1, Nicolas Holdmeyer; Class 2, Amy Gerlemann; Class 3, Inaya Chishti; Class 4, Travis Helling; Class 5, Blane Reed; Class 6, Adam Gerlemann; Class 7, Olivia Jacquin; and Class 8, Julia Gerling.

Olivia Jacquin, Marthasville, exhibited the grand champion market steer Thursday, Aug. 2, at the Washington Town and Country Fair. Jacquin, 14, is with the Go Hog Wild 4-H club. The 1,320-pound steer, Oscar, was in Class 7. Also pictured is 2018 Beef Queen Andrea Holdmeyer.

Record photo