LAFAYETTE — Firm and gentle were the hands of 2025 Central Catholic graduate and 4-H presenter Sophie Royer.
With all the sectional titles Royer won as a basketball player and ribbons as a golfer for Central Catholic, the one title she desired most required her to sport cowboy boots, a white long-sleeved shirt, and jeans.
She presented sometimes unruly livestock, including goats, cows, and sheep in front of both a panel of judges and curious onlookers at the Tippecanoe County 4-H Fair for a trophy, a lavender ribbon, and to join a family legacy defined by excellence in the realm of livestock showing.
Tears poured from the face of Royer when her name was called to be crowned the 2025 Supreme Livestock Showman.
She became the third member from her direct family to become a Supreme Livestock Showman, joining her sister, Hunter, who won in 2020 and who, five years ago, became the first father-daughter combination to win the acclaim with family patriarch Steve Royer, who captured glory in 1985.
“I wanted to be up there with him, and it’s been 42 years since he won it,” Royer said. “My dad is my best friend. He’s my hero, and to be on the same board and level with him is incredible.”
More memorable perhaps for Royer was the purple ribbon, a color she wore often in her hair to remind her of a lifelong friend she lost as a child.
Her friend Jamie Stockdale died in 2012 after suffering from a brain tumor. Stockdale was 20 years old but had developed a sisterhood with Sophie and Hunter, vowing one day to win the Supreme Livestock Showman.
Royer fulfilled that promise and received a hug from Stockdale’s father, Wes, who was in the audience, joined with her family members, including her mother, Cassie.
“Sophie has had an awesome 10-year career in 4-H. Our daughter was in 4-H for 10 years, and it was an awesome deal,” Wes Stockdale said. “There’s so much emotion that words can’t explain it. She’s worked so hard, and I’m so proud.”
Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@jconline.com, on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Best In Show? A full-circle moment for Sophie Royer at Tippecanoe County 4-H Fair
Reporting by Ethan Hanson, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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