During the county fair, I set out to write articles highlighting incoming seniors with long histories of involvement in FFA and 4H competition. Both of the students I interview, Lance Rutledge and Jaycee Worrall, did well in the competitions this year and were interesting to interview. Though I originally planned to focus on seniors, I was repeatedly encouraged to write about Alex Worrall as well. Alex is in the 9th grade and has just switched to FFA after 8 years in 4H. "I showed a pig and a steer. With my pig, I won market, and I also won showmanship." Winning both is not very common, which makes her showing noteworthy. She also won Best in Show for her showmanship with her pig. That is no small feat, but it is also her second consecutive year winning the award.
She explained the difference between the two categories: "Showmanship is how you present the animal and market is how the judge thinks they look." She explained that the market is more difficult to win. "You get them when they're little. Sometimes, they look good when they're little and then once they grow their bodies, their muscle kind of goes down. So you don't really have that great of a chance to win." Genetics and other factors that you have limitEd control over play a large role in the market judging. Though she has won the showmanship category in past, Alex explained that she has not won market ever before. This makes winning both a big deal for her.
After winning showmanship with her pig, Alex explained the next step in the competition: "If you win showmanship, then you get to go to round robin. You show everybody else's animals. If you do really good there, then you can win that too and get another prize." Alex managed to win that prize as well, which is "Best in Show" for showmanship.
Alex explained that she enjoys meeting new people through FFA, spending time with new people, and making friends at the events. She also enjoys learning about and working with the livestock. She explained to me the daily tasks and decisions involved in raising an animal for competition. Between walking them, feeding, caring for them, and everything else, she spent about an hour a day working toward entering them in competition. She also explained a little about the decisions that need to be made in feeding and exercising them. "Mr. Taylor helped me quite a bit. If my steer is little, I'll give him more grain. But if he's getting on the heavy side, I may cut him back a little bit and exercise him more." Walking a cow is similar to walking a dog. Alex's cow, Carl, did not enjoy his daily walks. "He was kinda lazy." Her pig, Sally, really didn't enjoy her daily exercise regimen either.
Alex has enjoyed the praise and encouragement she has received in response to her performance at the County Fair.
