Teens take top prizes for showmanship

 

ROME TOWNSHIP — Just like getting to Carnegie Hall, getting the top prize in showmanship takes practice, practice, practice.

And all the participants in Thursday’s hog showmanship competition, both junior and senior, showed they had worked hard with their project, said judge Bruce Berry, from Chillicothe.

“You sit with your hog and let him get used to you,” Berry said during a break between senior and junior shows at the livestock arena. “Hogs are very smart. They know your face. They know your voice. You must work with them, feed them, water them and walk them.”

The keys to good showmanship are to keep the animal constantly moving around the arena, always keep eye contact with the judge, even as the animal is moving; and never let the hog come in contact with the judge.

There were five finalists for senior showman and four for junior. Berry put both sets of contestants through elaborate paces including having them drive their hogs in a Figure 8 pattern between two folding chairs he set up in the arena.

When the competition was down to two, Berry had them switch animals, which included the ritual of exchanging show stick and animal brush. This allowed the judge to see how well the finalists could control an animal they were not used to.

“That was tough, real tough,” Berry said as he got ready to announce his decision. “I threw them everything I could.”

Both contestants made errors — One let his hog hit the judge’s leg and the other led his animal on the wrong side. However, the contestant with the most points was Curtis Lybrand, 17, from Symmes Valley High, and a member of Valley Farmers.

This was the first time for Curtis to take the top hog showman trophy in the senior category. He has shown hogs for seven years and would walk his hog for a half-hour every day from the time he got his project until the fair started.

“It was hard,” he said about the competition. “But it was fun.”

Four juniors went through the same routine as their seniors did to get Berry’s eye.

“I tested them on everything and they did really well on everything that I tested them on,” he told the audience before announcing the top junior showman. “They have done a fantastic job. This is the future of the pig market. All have worked hard. They have worked with their project.”

Then he announced that Brandon Blair, 14, of Chesapeake, was the top junior showman. Brandon has shown hogs for four years and had worked with this year’s entry since it was 2-months-old.

“This is great,” he said.