Downey Sweeps MontanaFair in Billings

Thirteen year old Zane Downey took the MontanaFair in Billings by storm, winning three of the most prestigious awards available at the largest of Montana's summer season Junior livestock shows.

Downey, an eighth grader this year, shows under the Golden Livestock 4H Club in Lewis and Clark county and has been involved in 4H for the last six years. He and his lamb, Eric - who he has had since April - blew the competition out of the water, winning: Grand Champion Market Lamb, Grand Champion Junior Sheep Showman, and the Grand Champion Large Animal Round Robin Junior Showman.

"While anyone can buy a champion animal, it takes hard work to win showmanship awards," Corie Downey, Zane's mother, said. "Zane has worked extraordinarily hard to do both - raise and train a exemplary lamb AND learned to be a outstanding showman."

Unlike the Madison-Jefferson County Fair, which has its exhibitors rotating species in pairs for the Round Robin, the MontanaFair has all of its round robin competitors showing each individual species at the same time, per class. Downey showed not only sheep, but completed the round robin showing horse, cattle, dairy goat, meat goat, pig, sheep, and llamas.

"The llamas were...interesting," he said with a laugh. Apparently llamas are very one-person oriented and several of the llamas at the MontanaFair were not the friendliest.

"The animals can feel you. If you're nervous, they will be nervous. If they run around and start acting crazy, you just have to be calm and almost let them do it. You just keep showing and ignore it," Downey said in a recent Legacy Studio Podcast interview, which is available on Spotify.

Downey works an average of at least four hours a day, honing his showmanship skills or working with his lambs. An average week consists of showmanship training daily, working the lambs on a treadmill built for lambs every other day, and rinsing/conditioning the wool on the lambs legs every other day.

Downey has shown heifers in the past, but enjoys the sheep and the showmanship of that animal more. His knowledge of musculature, showmanship, and professionalism is outstanding for his age.

While Eric and Downey have built a bond, he understands that Eric's life has a purpose.

"The better of a life you give them, typically, the harder it is to part with them. Something I have learned and understand is that you have given them the best possible life you could and their meat is better for that because they haven't been stressed out their whole lives," Downey said.

Downey is currently on his month off before he and his lambs head off to the NILE stock show (Northern International Livestock Expo), once again in Billings. The NILE will be his last show with his lamb Eric, though his showmanship skills have been requested by club lamb breeders around the country. Downey greatly appreciates the sacrifices his dad, Levi, has made and knows this wouldn't be possible without him.

Downey is entertaining the idea of a career as a pilot, but at such a young age, has plenty of time to decide. While animals are a passion, so is aviation and drone piloting. Zane's drone photos have been featured in the Ledger and he enjoys the challenges flight provides.

Zane, good luck at NILE!