The new Swine Barn, called the Fall Creek Pavilion, will make its debut at the Indiana State Fairgrounds next summer. So, with no home of their own this year, 4-H pigs had to move in a week earlier than the other livestock. They moved into the Cattle Barn, or the West Pavilion, and the 4-H Barrow & Gilt Grand Drive was held this past weekend.
“I never thought I would get to this point. I was happy that I just won a class. That was my main goal for all of 4-H,” says 13-year-old Natalie Rhoads from Montgomery County. She and her crossbred gilt Trixie received the Supreme Champion banner Sunday night.
Jasper County 17-year-old Emily Myers was also victorious. She and her Duroc barrow Rick took home the Grand Champion banner.
“It’s amazing. A lot of support from my friends and family… I’m so thankful for all of them and what they do for me and how they help me. So, I just owe it all to them.”
Rhoads was sure to say thank you to her family as well.
“Yeah, my dad helped me feed her, my brother helped walk her at the very beginning, my brother and sister helped me clean pens a lot because when we have 21 pens in our barn, it takes a long time. And my grandpa, whenever we’re at shows and we don’t take her, he always helps feed her. So, there’s a lot of people that ended up helping me.”
And Rhoads offered her advice to those considering showing 4-H livestock.
“Never give up. Even when they’re super hard to work with because they may, at the very beginning, be terrible and you think, ‘Why in the world am I working with this pig?’ And then it turns out really good.”
Check out video from the 4-H Barrow & Gilt Grand Drive on our Facebook page, @hoosieragtoday. We’ll have more next week from this weekend’s Grand Drive as well.
