NC State Fair Part 1: Pig Show

We were so excited to have the NC State Fair back this year in all its glory after being cancelled because of COVID in 2020! The livestock shows were on a bit of a different schedule this year, so I flew in the day of the first show—pig showmanship.

The boys chose to show purebred pigs this year. Gideon had a Yorkshire named Yorky (very original), but we were not supposed to call him Porky Yorky declared Gid. Isaac had Rusty, a Duroc. Both boys did great in showmanship, being chosen out of their heats for the final drive. The pigs did great, although, Yorky caused a bit of an issue right before the show.

It really wasn’t his fault, though. The neighboring pig bit his tail and made it bleed quite a bit! We broke out the first aid kit and tried to clean it up. Have you ever tried to put a bandage on a pig tail? It’s not exactly easy. Finally, we got it bandaged. Right before entering the ring, we took the bandage off (it was a little rough and ready and not show quality). The bleeding had stopped, well, until the second class, when happy-go-lucky Yorky wagged his tail too hard and painted some blood on the signs in the pen. Oops.

You know I’m gonna walk a pig any chance I get.

The second day of showing was early in the morning. Both Rusty and Yorky were in the same heavyweight class. We had been a little worried about Yorky, because he liked his grub a bit too much and was on the heavy end. Everyone weighed just right, though.

Rusty and Isaac ended up winning their class over the two Yorkshires, which also meant Rusty was the purebred heavyweight champion. That put them in the running for Overall Purebred Champion Barrow. Isaac and Rusty drove hard. Grand was picked. Reserve was picked. Neither was Rusty. Isaac peeked up at me and quickly stuck his lip out to make a sad face. He thought it was all over. I made the motion for him to keep going. They still had to pick Got to Be NC Born and Bred Purebred Champion. Isaac kicked it into high gear and kept going. He got that handshake! Rusty was a champion.

When I say that Rusty is the biggest ham, I mean it. Rusty’s expressions rival Isaac’s! We were so excited for their win. It’s the best we’ve ever done in market pigs, and Isaac had poured his heart into this guy. Rusty had a rough start. He had a rectal prolapse in September, but after some doctoring and a few days stay at the See’s, he bounced back.