Students compete in annual Winter Pig Classic Show

The annual Georgia Farm Credit Winter Pig Classic was held Friday through Sunday at the Georgia National Fair Grounds and Agricenter. The competition was open to youth from Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee, in organizations such as the Future Farmers of America and 4H clubs. The barrow (neutered male) and gilt (female) entries were sorted in to divisions based on weight and breed. The competition is sorted into two segments; showmanship, held on Friday, and weight class, held on Saturday and Sunday.

Jordan Rodgers, a senior at Perry High School, as well as a junior livestock ambassador for the Georgia National Fair Grounds and Agricenter, explained that showmanship is based on how the showman shows the pig, while weight class focuses on the pig itself. Rodgers explained that during the weight class competition, it’s important to focus on your pig’s best attributes.

“Show off the part of your pig that looks the best,” Rodgers said.

Eighth grader, Jack Aydlotte, from Perry Middle, said that the criteria for the judgement of the pig, includes large stomachs and sides, as well as bone structure.

Dallas Holton, a freshman at Northside High School, said that musculature and fat contents are also important. “You want them to have good structure,” Holton said, “You want them to have fat but not too much fat, and you want them to have muscle, but there is such a thing as too much muscle.”

Apart from monetary

prizes, there were also two Candy Burton Memorial Scholarships given to the top two high school seniors with the highest points achieved. These points are accrued by placing in the top five in showmanship, as well as the top five in weight class. The points used may only be acquired by the entrant’s top two placing hogs.

Many of the participants said that showing pigs have many benefits. Thomson Middle School eighth grader, Brianna Isaacs said that one of the biggest things she has learned is how to stay calm.

“If they sense that you’re scared or upset, they’re going to be the same way,” Isaacs said. “If you stay calm, they’ll stay calm.”

Warner Robins High senior, Rebecca Edelman, said that it has given her a sense of self pride, “When I started showing, I had this huge support system and I had all these new friends,” Edelman explained. “I got confident.”

Warner Robins Middle sixth grader, Joy Sanders said the experience has taught her monetary value. “It takes a lot of money and stuff. I have to do extra chores for that,” she said.

Aydlotte said showing pigs has shown him responsibility and mentorship, stating that he helps younger students who are new to pig showing learn how to perform with and train their pigs.

According to eighth grader, Brianna Sailor of Mossy Creek Middle, showing pigs also teaches you to let go at the end of the season. “You can either keep [the pig] or you can sell them to the market,” Sailor said. “It’s hard to let things go but you’ve got to enjoy it while you can.”

Both Aydlotte and Veterans High School sophomore, Colton Wurdeman, plan to continue to work with pigs into adulthood. “I want to breed them when I grow up,” Wurdeman said. Wurdeman also says that he comes from a family background of showing pigs.

Entrants in the competition, recommend pig showing to anyone interested. According to Rodgers, you can start to show pigs at any age. “If you want to get out here at 16, you can,” Rodgers said, “If that’s something that you want to learn to do, it’s for all ages.”