Bringing home the purple ribbon
Marthaler exhibits grand champion lamb at Minnesota State Fair
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MARSHALL -- It was a tense moment. McCoy Marthaler's sheep had done well at the Minnesota State Fair, after being selected as first in its class, and then as champion lightweight market lamb. Now Marthaler was among the 10 4-H youth waiting to learn who would have the grand champion lamb.
"I was really nervous, shaking," Marthaler said.
Then the judge came over to shake Marthaler's hand.
"I had no idea even what happened. And just a bunch of emotions came out," he said.
On Aug. 25, Marthaler, a Lyon County 4-H member from just outside Marshall, exhibited the Grand Champion Market Lamb at the 2023 State Fair. It was Marthaler's first time competing at the State Fair, as well.
Marthaler said being in the State Fair arena was a "crazy" experience. He said he didn't really know what to expect. "I just kind of went in there," Marthaler said.
"We went to shows throughout the summer, and he's done well with the sheep. We knew it was a good sheep, we just didn't know how good," said McCoy's dad Bryan Marthaler.
In addition to the honor of winning grand champion, Marthaler will also receive a year's lease of a livestock trailer, said Lyon County Extension educator for youth development Sam Jens.
The road to the State Fair started earlier in the year for the Marthaler family. Both McCoy and his older brother Landon Marthaler are wrestlers, and they usually wait until wrestling season is over to get sheep to show.
"We've been dealing with a guy from Iowa that we've been buying sheep from for the last four or five years, and we just went down there and kind of picked them out," Bryan Marthaler said.
This year, McCoy named his lamb Yianni, after Yianni Diakomihalis. "He's a four-time NCAA champion wrestler," Marthaler explained.
The Marthalers got their lambs in April, and worked with them all summer. McCoy said they went to about eight or nine shows before making it to the State Fair.
"I like just working with (the sheep), like walking them and spending time with them," he said. Getting a market sheep ready to show means putting in a lot of work grooming and trimming their wool, and making sure they're well-exercised and muscular.
Marthaler said sheep judges look for "like, the muscle on them, and how they walk and stuff."
The work didn't stop once McCoy and Landon's sheep made it to the State Fair. The Marthalers put in long days caring for the sheep and competing. Their first day at the fair was tricky, because of the extreme heat, Bryan Marthaler said.
"We put ice under the bedding," to help keep the sheep cool, McCoy said.
McCoy said he knew the competition for grand champion market lamb was going to be a tough one. There was another competitor who had a really good middleweight lamb, the Marthalers said.
"He kept telling me he didn't know if he could beat that kid," Bryan Marthaler said.
Actually winning grand champion was a rush, McCoy said.
"I felt really good," he said. "I was like, super happy. Everything, like all the nerves just kind of went away."
"And there's a ton of people instantly talking to him, lots of pictures," said McCoy's mom Melissa Marthaler.
"They just come right up to you after the show," McCoy said.
In spite of the sudden attention, McCoy and Yianni had to be ready to go back in the ring the next morning, to compete in the sheep showmanship event. That was its own challenge, because Yianni was tired after the previous day's show, Marthaler said.
After competition was over, both McCoy and Landon brought their sheep to the State Fair purple ribbon auction. Yianni set the record for the highest-selling sheep at the fair so far, Melissa Marthaler said. The winning bid was $13,000, Bryan Marthaler said.
"It shocked me, because I didn't think I was going to get that much," McCoy said. He said he was probably going to get another animal with his portion of the auction money.
Participating in the auction was bittersweet, because for McCoy it meant saying goodbye to his sheep. However, Yianni will be on display along with other champion livestock for the rest of the State Fair. The Marthalers said all this week they've been getting pictures and updates on Yianni from friends.
Looking ahead, McCoy said he thought he might like to try a different challenge for a livestock project.
"I want a goat, and just try to win that too," he said.