HANCOCK COUNTY – To the uninitiated it looked like chaos as a dozen kids led their pigs haphazardly around the ring Sunday for the Swine Show at the Hancock County 4-H Fairgrounds, but 4-Hers know there’s nothing haphazard about it.
In fact, swine show judge Mark Hoge called the senior showmanship winner’s performance “poetry in motion.”
Katie Holmes took home grand champion honors in the senior showmanship contest while last year’s 4-H queen, Claire Bishop, made Hancock County fair history by winning grand champion in both the gilt and barrow contests.
Both young women are longtime 4-Hers deeply entrenched in the local fair community.
When each of them were named grand champion in their various contests at Sunday night’s show, the standing-room only crowd responded with celebratory shouts and applause.
“This is everything I’ve ever worked for,” said Holmes, wiping away happy tears after her big win.
The nine-year 4-H’er works 40 hours a week at Co-Alliance in Greenfield, then heads home to work with her pigs in her family’s barn.
She chose her favorite – a Berkshire gilt named Iggy – to partner with in Sunday’s showmanship contest.
“She’s the sweetest pig in my barn. She’s my partner in crime,” said Holmes, filling the hog’s water dish in a pen after the show.
Bishop was equally emotional after winning back-to-back grand champion honors Sunday.
“Even winning one grand champion barrow would have been huge, but to win both was just crazy,” said Bishop, who has been working with her animals three to four hours a day in addition to serving as this year’s Indiana State Fair queen after serving as last year’s Hancock County 4-H Fair queen.
“This year was a little bit more challenging for me, so there were days I’d get really discouraged, but it definitely was worth all the early mornings and late nights to see it all pay off,” she said.
Hoge, a farmer and livestock judge from Good Hope, Ill., praised this year’s contestants for their hard work and dedication in working with their pigs throughout the year.
He also praised the crowd for coming out in droves to support the hardworking 4-H kids.
“The essence of the county fair has diminished a little bit in prestige, but that sure hasn’t been evident in Hancock County,” said Hoge.
“Your own county fair should be your favorite fair in the country, but I will say I’ve never eaten better at a county fair than I have here,” he said.
Sunday’s show had all the typical sights and sounds of a county 4-H swine show.
Kids entered the area with their pigs one by one until the ring was nearly full, with each 4-H’er tapping their pigs’ sides with a stick to guide them around the ring.
One little girl dressed in white dutifully guided her all-white pig, which was bigger than she was.
“I got peed on,” she told her dad as she exited the ring.
One dad wrapped his arm around his son’s neck and ruffled his hair as he exited the show ring – all smiles after a particularly good showing – while other parents waited in the wings to give consolatory hugs.
“When it comes to showing livestock, there are various degrees of natural ability. The rest is practice, practice, practice,” said Hoge, whose own children show pigs competitively.
“If you didn’t make it into the top five today, don’t be discouraged and do not give up,” he said.
While the hours in the barn may be long, Holmes said the time spent is well worth it.
“Showmanship takes dedication and heart. You gotta have heart,” said the teen, who will be a senior at Greenfield-Central High School in the fall. After that she plans to study animal production or animal science.
Bishop recently graduated from Greenfield-Central and will attend Purdue University in the fall. Her family owns a small farm in northern Hancock County.
Before she heads off to college, the 10-year 4-H’er was thrilled to be on the receiving end of two of the purple and gold banners awarded to each grand champion throughout the fair.
“I’ve never shown in the grand drive with any of my pigs before and I’ve never won a banner before, so it’s really exciting,” she said.
