DEL MAR -- Michelle Hughes tightly held a silver collar around the neck of a brown dairy goat Sunday morning, trying to keep the animal's head high.

The goat twisted and opened its mouth to bleat, but within seconds, Hughes, 15, had the goat's head under control -- poised high and straight. She used one hand to move the goat's front and back legs, making them parallel while a judge looked on.

Earlier in the week, Hughes was one of 14 students from Oceanside's El Camino High School who showed pigs at the San Diego County Fair in the novice division. But she was the only one from the school who qualified for Sunday's Master Showmanship competition.

In addition to dairy goats, Hughes showed dairy cattle, beef cattle, market sheep and swine. For many of the students, it was the first time they had displayed farm animals in a competition.

The 39 students competing Sunday were judged on their ability to keep the animals under control while walking or keeping the animals stationary, said Kim Jacobson, the contest's livestock coordinator. The winners advance to the state competition in Sacramento in August, Jacobson said.

The competitors were either involved with FFA -- formerly known as Future Farmers of America -- or 4-H clubs, which teach youth about healthy lifestyles, science and citizenship.

Terry Leach, Hughes' agriculture instructor, said that for many students, the agriculture program leads to careers working in farming or animal care.

Hughes' older sister, Valerie Hughes, who showed animals at the fair years ago, graduated from California Polytechnic State University-Pomona, after majoring in agriculture business. She now works for a distributor of farm products. Michelle Hughes wants to be a veterinarian.

To qualify for the Master Showmanship competition, the students display their own animals that they have been caring for, Leach said. But at the Master Showmanship level, the students must select animals at random that belong to someone else -- so none have an unfair advantage.

Before Sunday's competition began, Hughes talked about showing her pig, Suzie Q, on Thursday. "It was a new experience. It was exciting," she said. "I was good with the pig and had him under control and handled him well."

After competing with the sheep and the goat, Hughes moved on to display dairy cattle, beef cattle and swine.

The beef cattle weigh about 1,300 pounds, Hughes said. After the cattle competition was over, she said she kept control of the animals, but wasn't sure how she fared -- she had her hands too full to watch any of her competitors.

Leach said handling the cattle is often difficult. "They'll kick you and drag you around," he said. "My son got stepped on by a steer and had to be carried out of the ring."

Today, students who showed their animals will get to auction them off at the fair. Leach said the auction, with bidding starting above the market price, allows the students to recoup their money and possibly make a small profit. People from the community come out to the auction and buy the animals to help the students, Leach said.

Hughes said she wasn't happy about having to part with her pig Suzie Q. "I've gotten pretty attached," she said. "But I have to do it."

On Tuesday she'll find out how well she did in the competition.

- Contact staff writer Keith Rushing (760) 901-4151 or krushing@nctimes.com.