Champion Overall Showman (Junior)
Macy Jacobson - 11 - Osceola, IA (Clarke Community Middle School)

What is your favorite part of showing?
Favorite part of showing is being able to show against the best of the best! I really enjoy though being able to come together and hang out with friends & families from other states that I don’t get to see as much.

With this pandemic what was one of the biggest struggles to keep your showmanship top notch? How did you overcome the struggle?
Staying focused and driven not knowing when we were going to be able to show! My dad always tells us though “if we quit now, we weren’t committed”.. So staying focus and determined no matter what the consequences!!

If you could give other showmen one piece of advice on showmanship what would it be?
Surround yourself with good people and great things will happen! Lots of practice at home and no matter what stay driven!

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:
Chocolate

Favorite Song to Jam to the in Barn:
Thunderstruck

Favorite Show Shoes:
Pair of Boots

Starched or Non-Starched Show Jeans/Shirt:
Non-starched

Champion Senior Showman
Keri Landry - 18 - Jeanerette, LA (Oklahoma State University)

What is your favorite part of showing?
The time spent with my family, fights and wins all included.

With this pandemic what was one of the biggest struggles to keep your showmanship top notch? How did you overcome the struggle?
I struggled with not being in the ring for a while, and simply being out of practice in the ring. I simply trusted that I knew what I was doing!

If you could give other showmen one piece of advice on showmanship what would it be?
Practice everyday and be confident  in what you know how to do! 

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:
Vanilla

Favorite Show Shoes:
Tooled Sperries

Starched or Non-Starched Show Jeans/Shirt:
Heavy starched jeans!

Champion Intermediate Showman
Olivia Shike - 14 - Sadorus, IL (Unity High School)

What is your favorite part of showing?
There is so much I love about showing pigs, so it is hard to have a favorite! I really love the people in the swine industry and the opportunity to meet people all around the country. Without pig shows, I would never have met some of my biggest role models and closest friends that live in different states. Another part I like about showing pigs is the excitement and adrenaline you get when you go into the show ring. I think this is something I didn’t recognize how much I appreciated until we started to show virtually this year. In the virtual shows you don’t get the exhilaration as the class narrows down and the pigs are placed. I love watching the judge place your class and the excitement as you drive for first place or Grand Champion!

With this pandemic what was one of the biggest struggles to keep your showmanship top notch? How did you overcome the struggle?
One of the biggest struggles with keeping my showmanship top notch was not being able to get to as many pig shows this year. I did not have much practice with maneuvering through traffic and that is an important part of showmanship. The judge wants you to keep proper distance between them and your pig and not get too close or too far away, but with so many pigs in the ring it is hard to make sure you are staying the right distance from the judge. The other issue is that the pigs might not want to squeeze through a tiny gap or show amongst so many pigs, and if they won’t, then you will be out of consideration. I overcame these struggles by creating hypothetical show ring situations and practicing them when I walked my pigs. I would practice switching sides, walking in front of a pig to turn them around, and making lots of turns and random patterns to get my pig used to showing exactly how I wanted him to. We also practiced by having my Dad act as the judge and then my brother and I would practice our distance and eye contact to him.

If you could give other showmen one piece of advice on showmanship what would it be?
If I could give one piece of advice on showmanship, it would be to stay calm but also be aggressive. If something doesn’t go your way, you need to stay calm because if you start to get concerned or really angry, the judge won’t keep you. One time I was showing my pig with about 20 other showmen in a showmanship contest. While I showed someone ran into me and knocked my pocket brush off into the shavings, another person’s pig tried to fight my pig, and I almost got cut off from my pig by an aggressive showman. I was getting pretty concerned but then I told myself to stay calm and I was able to get my composure back.

You also need to be aggressive in showmanship. Sometimes, a showman will let somebody else go ahead of them or will get cut off. You need to be aggressive enough so that you can show the judge all the angles and some good passes, but you also need to stay calm and keep a cool head when things don’t go as planned.

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:
Mint chocolate chip

Favorite Song to Jam to the in Barn:
God's Country

Favorite Show Shoes:
Twisted X

Starched or Non-Starched Show Jeans/Shirt:
Light starch

Champion Novice Showman
Owen Hege - 9 - Rensselaer, IN (Van Rensselaer Elementary)

What is your favorite part of showing?
Doing what I love with my family and best friends.

With this pandemic what was one of the biggest struggles to keep your showmanship top notch? How did you overcome the struggle?
The biggest struggle was not being able to see what judges were looking for at most of the shows since we didn't have showmanship. I just continued practicing at home every day while walking my pigs.

If you could give other showmen one piece of advice on showmanship what would it be?
Practice a lot and stay calm but aggressive.

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:
Vanilla

Favorite Song to Jam to the in Barn:
Old Town Road

Favorite Show Shoes:
Cowboy Boots

Starched or Non-Starched Show Jeans/Shirt:
Starched