Timmy Humphrey defended his crown — uh, belt buckle — as the Lawrence County Fair’s Senior Showman of Showmen.

The 18-year-old from Kitts Hill took top honors for the second straight year.

“It feels great. I enjoy showing,” the 2005 Symmes Valley graduate said. “It is always good to come out and have good animals to work with.”

The showmen competition judges contestants on their ability to handle an interview from the judge and work with six animals: Steer, hogs, rabbits, chickens, goats and lambs. The contest pitted the top showman from each category against each other.

Involved with 4-H since he was 5 years old, Humphrey knows his way around the barn — and it paid off Friday in the competition. But that doesn’t mean the youth thought he had it in the bag.

“I have had more experience showing than the others so I knew I had a shot but I respected the other people and saw them out there working,” he said. “ I knew they would do a good job.”

Humphrey has shown a variety and animals at the fair before. As far as Judge James Jordan is concerned, the experience showed.

“He was consistent. He was consistent with his exhibitions and he was consistent with his ability to answer my questions,” the longtime judge from Summerville said. “He always saw where I was but never lost his cool.”

Jordan said he was impressed with all six contestants.

“These six young people were very proficient in showing. Like I told them, it is not just about going out and winning each animal species. It is about being consistent,” Jordan said. “I really drilled them about the industry because it is more than just going out and showing an animal.”

The other five contestants were Kyle Evans, Zach Adkins, Meghan Herrell, Kyle Taylor and Jonathan Dickess.

For Humphrey, this is another shining moment in a long 4-H career that will culminate in 2007.

“I enjoy working with young people, people that enjoy animals, farming, making friends and working with animals,” he said.

Mission accomplished.