It was the biggest Legislative and Celebrity Showmanship ever for the Oklahoma Youth Expo- and the night was filled with laughter and the sounds of honest farm animals as members of the Oklahoma Legislature, a member of the US Senate, State Elected Officials and Sponsors and Supporters of 4-H and FFA across the state all interacted with Oklahoma youth at the 2025 OYE Legislative and Celebrity Showmanship Contest.
The final count of those showing on Monday night was 148- more than a dozen more than a year ago. Ahead of the show on Sunday, OYE’s Bray Haven explained to Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays that the Legislative/Celebrity Showmanship is an event designed to showcase the 4-H and FFA youth who are the heart of the Oklahoma Youth Expo and remind lawmakers that many of them are Oklahoma’s leaders of tomorrow.
One of the keys is that pairing up of lawmakers with youth from their area- and Haven says its “really important not just for the Oklahoma Youth Expo and that interaction with that youth and their lawmaker on the importance of this program and their continued support of facilities and economic development dollars that they are choosing to invest…and the opportunity for those students to have direct interaction with their legislator- not a lot of activities get that type of interaction with their elected official and whether it’s education or agriculture issues- I think the agriculture community as a whole needs this type of opportunity.”
Lawmakers and others had the chance to show a barrow, a lamb, a goat or a steer- and the winner in the four categories competed by showing steers to be selected as the Grand Champion of the evening.
Winning the Grand Championship for 2025 is the current Senate Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton. Senator Paxton represents District 23 and calls Tuttle, Oklahoma home. After he was declared the overall winner, Farm Director KC Sheperd talked with him- listen to their conversation by clicking on the LISTEN BUTTON below:
Senator Paxton won in the Steer division and there was actually a co- winner with him in the Steer division- Rep. Josh West from District 5.
Winning the Hog Showmanship was Senator Chuck Hall, who represents District 20 and lives in Perry, Oklahoma.
Winning the Lamb Showmanship division was Rep. Nick Archer of Elk City, Oklahoma.
Winning the Goat Showmanship was Rep Mark Lawson from Sapulpa, Oklahoma.
Ahead of the show- Oklahoma Farm Report’s Ron Hays caught up with the Oklahoma Speaker of the House- Kyle Hilbert of Bristow. Hilbert won the Legislative Showmanship Contest in 2023. He is one of several products of the FFA now serving in the State Legislature- and he talked with Ron about the value of the show program to 4-H and FFA members- why lawmakers are pleased to have the chance to interact with these students and the value of theses students to the future of our state. Hilbert also offered a quick update on the legislative session to date- and even offered a bit of advice to novice showmen and ladies- “pay attention to what your student tells you to do with your animal and keep your eye on the judge.” Listen to their conversation by clicking on the play button below:
Click here for the full schedule for the 2025 OYE. The Oklahoma Farm Report team will be snapping pictures from start to finish- and you can see them as we add them to our Flickr album for 2025- available here. (We have LOTS of pictures from the Legislative Showmanship Contest) If you want to look back to the 2024 OYE- click here for our pictures from last year’s event.
Our coverage of the 2025 Oklahoma Youth Expo is sponsored by Hilliary Communications. More than 60 years ago, the Hilliary Family acquired a small telephone company in rural southwest Oklahoma. Now in its third generation, the company has grown from a single exchange with just 100 access lines covering 22 square miles to now serving more than 19,000 customers in 22 counties throughout Oklahoma & Texas. The company also offers IP television service and internet speeds up to 1 Gig. Click here to learn more about Hilliary Communications.
