“Watching kids grow as far as with their experience in the project and seeing them from year to year and the smiles on their face and just having fun,” said Sarah Brown, a member of the Clark County Swine Committee. “I think that’s the most important part of being here.”
Most kids in the show had been working with their pigs since February.
The pigs are judged on a variety of different categories such as the way it walks, the look of the pig’s stomach, the way its been cared for by the kid and more, according to Brown.
Participating children, aged 8-18, competed for awards and cash prizes.
Brown married into pig showing with her husband being a former 4-H member and her children being in 4-H for the past eight years, Brown said. This is her second year on the Clark County Swine Committee, and she looks forward to seeing the progress each kid has made.
Jamison Truebenbach, co-chair of the Clark County Swine Committee, has personal experience with pig showmanship, doing the same when she was a child. She’s been involved with the fair for the past 30 years and has been a member of the committee for four years.
Credit: DION JOHNSON
Credit: DION JOHNSON
“The important piece is to teach these kids responsibility and work ethic and how to work with others, but more importantly, it’s just quality time with your family,” Truebenbach said.
“The hours spent in the barn at home, the friendships that they make here at the fair, all of those things are why you’re here. Banners and ribbons and money is great, but you’re here for the relationships and the knowledge that you gain as an exhibitor and as a family.”
Jeff Karshner, the second co-chair of the Clark County Swine Committee, is one of the eldest members, having worked with the committee at the fair for the past 40 years.
He and the other members of the committee understand that this is the last time many of the kids will see their pigs. Both the hogs and barrows leave on a truck when the day is done.
It’s for that reason that they believe it’s important the kids work hard to show what they’ve accomplished.
“They have this project for quite a while,” said Karshner. “They really get to put what they did on display for everybody and enjoy having the time to do that. The fair is the epic end of their journey with their livestock.”
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