CASSOPOLIS — With her red hair pulled back under a rhinestone headband, Jena Bradley kept her eyes fixed intently on the show judge.

The Edwardsburg seventh-grader knew she had done well in Monday’s sheep show, but she couldn’t be too certain what the judge was thinking.

Bradley was named grand champion sheep showman two years ago as a beginner, but placed outside the top two last year.

So much, she acknowledged, comes down to skill, preparation, luck and the opinion of the person calling the shots.

“I really have no clue what is going on,” said Bradley of the time between when the show ends and the judge makes his decision.

Bradley’s thoughts changed from wonder to utter delight when the judge passed up the other three finalists and gave her the first handshake, signifying she was the best sheep showman at the 2015 Cass County Fair.

“It made me really proud,” said Bradley, whose win gives her automatic entry into Friday’s Showmanship Sweepstakes, where the fair’s best showmen display all of the large animals in the fair with the goal of claiming the fair’s ultimate prize — grand champion overall showman.

Bradley, who lives in Cassopolis, said she finished either fifth or sixth in the overall showmanship competition two years ago.

“I want to try and get in the top three,” she said.

Bradley credits the help of her family, hard work and an obedient sheep named Maize with her victory this year.

The sheep’s name comes from the family’s love of the University of Michigan maize and blue, although Jena said she’s more of a Michigan State fan.

“But I’ll go along with him,” she said nodding to her father.

Showmanship talent runs in the Bradley family.

Her mother, Leslie, was the grand champion sheep showman in the late 1980s.

Her brother, Jacob, was one of the four finalists for sheep showman in the ring Monday.

Madeline Yuhas, of Cassopolis, was reserve grand champion sheep showman for the second year in a row.