XENIA — Brooke Anderson saved her best for last.
The 18-year-old Cedarville resident, heading to The Ohio State University in the fall, won the overall showman award during the hog showmanship Monday at the Greene County Fair. While she is eligible for one more fair based on her birthday, Anderson approached the showmanship like it was her last one.
And after making the final drive a few times in the past, Anderson is cherishing her overall showman moment.
“It feels really nice and worth it,” the Greene Acres 4-H member said while waiting for general livestock judging to begin.
Anderson won her class and then won Division 1, which consisted of the winners of the first two classes. In the final drive she and four other division winners had one last chance to impress judge Taylor Farrer, who worked both the hogs and the youth for an extended period. In addition to driving their own hogs, Farrer had the youth switch and drive each others as well. Anderson used her past experiences to her advantage.
“Being the older member is helps a ton,” she said. “Knowing what the judges are looking for.”
Anderson said there has been a shift to a more aggressive drive with the hogs and some of the younger 4-H members haven’t caught up to that yet.
“The style used to be a lot more laid back,” she said.
Anderson plans to study animal sciences at OSU.
Three-fifths of the final drive consisted of the T-Birds 4-H club including the Bellbrook sister act of Kelsi and Hailee Adams. Olivia Richardson made it a trifecta of T-Birds.
Kelsi Adams, 10, is in her second year in 4-H and already has a first in class trophy to her credit.
“My pigs really cooperated with me,” she said. “I learned some new stuff and how to walk the pig.”
Like the other class winners, Kelsi Adams had compete for the division title and then handle her hog in the final drive. It makes for a long morning/afternoon.
“It was kind of hard,” she said.
Hailee Adams, 14, in her seventh year in 4-H was also a first-time class winner.
“I was kind of shocked, I guess,” she said. “The year before I didn’t do a good job. Last year I didn’t do as well. I did winter circuit this year and that definitely helped me.”
And having her sister driving right along side of her was an extra bonus.
“I was happy for our family,” she said. “I was really excited because both of our pigs were in it.”
Macen Bowen was the Division 4 winner and was also part of the final drive.
