For Aubrey McCoy, it was a feeling like no other.
The 14-year-old won the grand champion market hog trophy at Wednesday’s Fayette County Junior Fair Market Hog Show. “When the judge came and slapped my hog to let me know I had won, it was the best feeling I’ve ever had,” said Aubrey, who will be a ninth grader at Miami Trace this fall.
Earlier in the day, she also won the DC Barrow grand champion prize.
“It’s a lot of work to get them ready,” she said. “We work with them every night and in the morning, we wash them. This is just a great feeling.”
Aubrey is the daughter of Bryan and Amanda McCoy, and is a member of the Top Performers 4-H club.
“The winner’s hog had the best structure out of the whole show,” said Nathan Day, the judge at Wednesday’s hog show. “To put it simply, it’s kind of like a beauty pageant and that animal was very eye-appealing.”
Meri Grace Carson also excelled at the hog show, winning the reserve grand champion market hog trophy.
Meri Grace, now 15, said she’s been practicing showing hogs since she was 4-years-old. “I was ecstatic,” she said when asked how she felt when the judge selected her as reserve champion.
She is the daughter of Michael and Mary Ann Carson, and is a member of the Pigs-N-Things 4-H club. She also won the DC Barrow reserve champion trophy Wednesday.
Brooklyn Baldwin finished third overall at the show, Bethany Reiterman finished fourth, and Kendal May (the overall hog showman) finished fifth.
Kendal May won the Purebred grand champion prize, Brooklyn Baldwin won the LC Barrow grand champion, Bethany Reiterman won the DC Gilt grand champion, Kennedy Worley won the LC Gilt grand champion, Emily Reeves won the Purebred reserve champion, Jacob Hoppes won the LC Barrow reserve champion, Kendal May won the DC Gilt reserve champion, and Kylie Pettit won the LC Gilt reserve champion.