NEW SHARON — Kristen Davis, the new Maine Dairy Princess, will serve as an ambassador for the state this weekend at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Mass.

The 17-year-old senior at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington was awarded the title during the Clinton Lions Agricultural Fair in mid-September.

From there it was on to the Big E, where she earned the Overall 4-H Senior Showmanship Award and a Grand Champion Award for showing Brown Swiss cattle.  

Davis also excelled at the Farmington Fair, where she earned Showmanship and Sportsmanship awards. She was named Junior Champion for Brown Swiss and Holstein breeds, and Overall Junior Champion for all breeds, she said. 

Davis said being Maine Dairy Princess allows her to be part of many activities this year. It also provides a $1,000 scholarship for college. 

In a required essay for the pageant, she wrote about her farm life.

“I was born and raised on the farm,” she wrote. “I do try to advocate for the Maine dairy industry.”

The pageant included an interview and on-stage presentation about her sponsoring farm, the Davis family’s Silver Valley Farm, she said.  She sang for the talent portion of the competition. 

While thrilled with the title and the opportunities it provides, the Overall 4-H Senior Showmanship Award was also a really big deal, she said. The Big E is a large fair and one she attends as part of the Maine 4-H Dairy Team.

To compete with so many talented contestants and come out on top was a surprise, she said, especially since she worked with her brother’s cow, Zenith. She had not worked with the cow much before the competition, she said.

“Showmanship is all about how you do with your animal, how well you work together and how much you work for it,” she said.

She owns 10 cows and each is different, she said. The bovines react to commands, the way their halter is held and certain pushes.

There is also feeding, washing and clipping to get them ready for showing, she said. With school, there are long days.

“Then you get up the next day and do it all over again,” she said.

Parents James and Carol Davis were involved in 4-H. When her three older brothers went to meetings, she went along.

After helping her brothers at shows, Davis started showing on her own by age 9. She also raises and shows market lambs and steers.

This year, she is president of the Franklin County 4-H Dairy Club and wants to be a mentor to some of the younger members.

“I want to help them learn, like others helped me,” she said.

Along with 4-H, Davis plays soccer at Mt. Blue and is a member of the Interact Club.

While looking forward attending either Husson University in Bangor or the University of Southern Maine in Gorham, Davis said she is thinking about a career advertising or marketing, perhaps in the dairy industry.

abryant@sunmediagroup.net