By BRADEN LAMMERS
Braden.Lammers@newsandtribune.com
CLARK COUNTY —
Lots of hooting, tapping, laughing and squeals could be heard coming from the Clark County 4-H fairgrounds show room Thursday night, and the pigs made some noise, too.
To help celebrate the year of the pig — the theme for the Indiana State Fair — Clark County 4-H hosted a celebrity swine show.
A lineup of county and state officials, along with local business leaders and media personalities took to the pens and showed their respective swine.
The participants showed in heats of four with the winner moving on to compete with hopes of being named the grand champion.
Judging the amateurs were two veterans at showing swine, Megan Eve, 18, and Matthew Clapp, 19. Both said they have been showing hogs with 4-H for 10 years.
Before the event began the celebrities were given some pointers by Eve, Clapp and other 4-H fair participants.
Clapp said they told those showing the hogs how to turn the animals, how to make them go, to stay between the pig and the judge and always look at the judge.
When asked if the showers listened Eve said, “not really. They were all over the place.”
It seems some of their participants had their own ideas of how to get their animals where they wanted them to go.
Rep. Terry Goodin, D-district 66, said he was an old pro at coaxing an animal to get it where he wanted because he grew up raising beef cattle.
But Goodin had a trick up his sleeve, literally.
“I had marshmallows,” he said laughing. “The hog did great following [me] then all the sudden she just stopped, because I ran out of marshmallows.”
When asked why he resorted to tempting the swine Goodin said, “My hog was pretty stubborn. The secret about this, as a farm boy you know, that you don’t show hogs, hogs show you”
For all of those involved, it was certainly less about showing the animals and more about supporting 4-H programs and the children that participate in raising and showing the animals.
“Without question I think this is a great event,” said Clark County Sheriff Danny Rodden.
Jay Cardosi, WLKY 32 meteorologist agreed.
“This is a great time I have to admit. This is the first time I’ve shown a pig,” he said after winning his first heat.
Cardosi went on to claim grand champion honors.
A new level of appreciation was gained for all of the swine show participants toward the kids that train and raise the animals for 4-H programs.
Those involved in 4-H programs even offered a little praise for the first time celebrity swine showmen and women.
“It went a lot better than I thought it was going to,” Eve said.
