Bringing home the bacon at the Northwest Montana Fair

No squealin’, just dealins’ at the Northwest Montana Fair in Kalispell where youth from across the region flocked Wednesday to show off their prize pigs and showmanship skills.

“Be sure to not walk behind me,” Judge Mari Morris tells competitors as they navigate pigs around the ring on Aug. 17, trying to avoid running into each other.

Morris is looking for good showmanship, which is defined by keeping the animal between you and the judge, not blocking other competitors and letting the pig walk at a natural pace — among many other guidelines. Exhibitors tap each side of the hog to get it to turn in the direction they want, making sure to never hit them on the ham hocks or other sensitive areas where the highest value meat can be found.

Armed with only a whip and some practice promenades, exhibitors do what they can to keep their pig’s heads up and looking proud for the judge to see.

Jessica Hansen, 19, won a blue ribbon with her pig Shooter at Wednesday’s show, which closed a chapter on her 12 years competing at the fair. It is her fourth year taking a hog to show through the Future Farmers of America. A former 4-H member, Hansen says she’s always felt drawn to agriculture because of the way she was raised in Montana. She says these organizations are “just her kind of people” and that she enjoys working with pigs because they have good personalities.

“If you work with them, I don't think it's difficult. If you really take the time and effort and put it in, it really pays off — you can pretty much do anything you want,” Hansen said.

She describes doing well in her last competition as bittersweet, but she had fun while it lasted. A recent high school graduate, Hansen says she possibly wants to pursue welding as a career after enjoying it in high school.

15-year-old Jackson Heino practiced for the competition by walking his pig up and down his driveway. He named it Banzai after the hyena in “The Lion King.”

It’s his sixth year of competition at the fair. From a farming family, Heino says sometimes pigs get finicky.

“They can be hard to control at times, especially like mine today who got hot at the end. It didn't want to stay in front of the judge, which is key. So yeah, I mean, pigs are really smart,” Heino said.

Abby Sliter, 15, got a callback after showing her pig Eggy on Wednesday morning. Her grandfather raised hogs, too, but she was drawn to the show because she wanted a pet.

Pigs, Sliter says, are just like dogs. She enjoys training with them, considering them cute and smart animals. It’s her fifth year showing pigs and her hard work paid off.

“It feels really good, because I worked with my pig, like, a lot,” Sliter said. “I think I walked her probably three times for 45 minutes each time to just get her built up.”

She starts out training by ensuring the pig is comfortable — they pick all of it up pretty easy and from then on it’s important to “practice, practice, practice.” When in the ring, be sure to make eye contact with the judge and pay attention to your fellow competitors and their pigs so as to not get lost in the group, she says.

Swine Superintendent Michelle Baker says judges look at how the kids handle their pigs and work together, watching how much control they have with their hog. This year’s program boasted a record number of participants, according to Baker.

“I think it went great, especially from a program that's positioned around education. Our judge is offering excellent evaluation with lots of educational feedback for the kids, and she's hoping that they can then take that and come back even better next year,” Baker said.

For the Swine Showmanship Competition, Grand Champion for the senior class went to Tracen McEntire, with his brother Jayden taking Reserve Grand Champion. For the junior class, Coy Braughten took Grand Champion and Ryan Davidson got Reserve Grand Champion.