around the ring - 2019

Around the Ring – Banner Young
Tell me a bit about you! 
My name is Banner Young. I’m 16-years-old and from Burkburnett, Texas. I’ve been showing for about 11 years. When I’m not showing I like to hang out with my friends and work at our family’s hog operation. I also like to golf, hunt and fish.

Tell us a little bit about your champion.
My Fort Worth pig’s name was “Craig.” He was a pretty cool pig to get to know and work with. He was hard-headed and stubborn, but once you get past that he was just a lot of fun. I think one unique thing that I liked about Craig was bone structure.  
 
What was your favorite part about Fort Worth?
My favorite part about Fort Worth Stock Show was being in the champion ring and being able to win it. My least favorite is the anticipation before you leave for a stock show.

The best part about showing is when you’re about to come out of holding pens to show and then getting penned back – the judge either likes you or he doesn’t.

What were your first thoughts when the judge picked you?
My mind was going a mile a minute, after I was selected as Champion. It feels incredible to have a win under my belt, and I still can’t believe that it actually happened

Around the Ring – Jacob Martinez
Our intern, Mary Frost, traveled to her home state of California to the Western Bonanza to snap photos and snag results. While she was there, she visited with some young people who had a successful show around the ring.

My name is Jacob Martinez, and I am from Lindsay, California. I’ve been showing hogs for eight years. With my free time, I love to hang out with my friends, or hang out in the barn with my pigs!

I won the Champion Progress Barrow and later the Supreme Champion Hog, for the ring judged by Nathan Ray.

My pig is a blue-faced crossbred barrow, and his name is “Earl”. He is out of Dirty Bill and was bred by Lance Ryan Show Pigs, however he was placed with me by Ernest Donohoe. This hog is so special because he has a great market appearance as well as a great attitude, which helps me show him to the best of my ability. Because of his attitude, we are able to work as a team – which is one of the reasons why I won with him. He is special to me because I have never housed an animal in my barn with the potential that “Earl” brings to the table.

One of the most unique things “Earl” and I have is good chemistry and the ability to work together. I’ve never had attitude problems with him. If I need him to do something, he does it! And when he needs me to feed, wash, clean or treat him, I am there! This helps our bond a lot.

My favorite part about showing is being able to go to all these shows and hang out with friends and showing all in the same weekend. However, I always dread the time when I have to sell any of my hogs. They have become my friends, rather than my project.

Winning Bonanza was something I never thought I would accomplish. It still feels unreal!  It means so much to win because it is a testament to how much my work has paid off. Also, to be able to compete and to be as successful as I was at a show – especially with the caliber of competitiveness that Bonanza has – is insane. My favorite part about the win has been to be able to wake up every morning and see that big banner hanging in my room. Every time, I see it, I flashback to when that judge shook my hand. It’s something I will never forget!

I would like to thank all my family and friends who have helped me with this project, but most importantly, my parents for helping me through everything. Also, a huge thanks to Ernest Donohoe for taking a chance on me and trusting me with a hog as special as “Earl!”

Around the Ring – Joshua Col
Our intern, Mary Frost, traveled to her home state of California to the Western Bonanza to snap photos and snag results. While she was there, she visited with some young people who had a successful show around the ring.

My name is Joshua Col. I am 14-years-old. I am from Merced, California. I have been showing pigs for about four years. This is my first year in FFA. Besides showing, I like to play water polo and golf. I love to spend time with my family, especially at livestock shows.

I won Cal Poly’s Western Bonanza’s Supreme Grand Champion, for the ring judged by David Amman.

The gilt I won with is named “Sassy B.” She was sired by Dirty Bill at Swine Genetics International and out of House Money's littermate sister. My gilt is very sweet, but she can be a bit snippy at times, just like in the ring at Western Bonanza.

I think she’s a great pig because her head and neck tie in perfectly, and while her muscle is not jaw-dropping, her mobility makes up for it greatly. “Amazing” is the only word I can think of to describe how mobile she is.

What’s mind-blowing about “Sassy B” is the way she moves so fluently around the ring. And don’t even get me started about how far her stride is. When she moves, it’s almost like she covers an entire mile every step. “Sassy B” is opened up good in the front too and very big boned.

My favorite part about showing is that I get to take care of an animal, and I get to show off how I have been managing my pig to do well. My least favorite thing about showing is that when I lose all that hard work I put into that pig is down the drain.

This probably has been my favorite win out of all of them – even though I don’t have that many. My most favorite thing that has come out of this win has got to be how happy my family is.

First, I would like to thank my family for everything they do for me. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for helping me get ready in the morning for a show, helping me feed pigs, helping me at shows, preparing my pig to show and for driving the trailer to Arizona for 7 hours at 1 a.m. I love you so much Mom, Dad and Sami. Next, I would like to thank the people who made this dream come true – Jesse Heimer and Blaine Rogers. Thank you, Blaine, so much for helping me fit and teaching me how to present my hog better in the ring. I would like to thank Jesse for getting me such great pigs, and I want you guys to know that I will always show for you. I hope to make you guys proud and keep Heimer winning. I would also like to thank Ethan Slate for helping make my hog look amazing on show day. I highly recommend hiring him to make your hog look good, he has a vast knowledge of hogs and how to present them.

Disclaimer: Thepigplanet.com strives to bring you accurate, timely show results, sale highlights and event information. In order for this service to be available, we rely on a number of people and offices to assist with compiling information. While we intend to only publish the facts, in some rare cases there may be some inaccuracies. If this does occur, please notify us and we will correct the error upon proper notification.