Photos by Steven Wright | Greene County News
Hadley Hawkins. a member of the Green Acres 4-H Club, was a standout during Tuesday’s Market Hog Show at the 2024 Greene County Fair.
Hawkins, 9, shows off her Market Gilt hog which weighed in at 229 pounds. It won first place in Division 1.
Hawkins displays her handling abilities during Tuesday’s Market Hog Show.
XENIA — Hadley Hawkins was surrounded by animals that could have weighed more than three times the amount she does during Tuesday’s Market Hog Show.
That fact did not deter the 9-year-old competitor. It never even crossed her mind.
Hawkins put her young skills on display during the show, impressing the judge and the crowd as one of her pigs was declared a winner and nearly overall champion.
“I just think I’m having fun with the pigs, and I think the pigs are having fun when I’m showing,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins, who is a member of Green Acres 4-H Club, had her pig be selected as first-place in the third class of the market gilt show. It was then selected as the Division 1 champion for crossbred gilts, which the judge later noted was an “easy” selection as her’s stood out well.
That distinction allowed her hog, which weighed in at 229 pounds, to go up against the Division 2 and 3 champions to be eligible as the overall champion of the breed. The judge said when comparing against the heavier animals it was more difficult for it to stand out but made sure to mention how well Hawkins had handled the animal compared to her stature.
The Hawkins family can be found all over the fairgrounds, and Hadley said she has been waiting for her turn to follow in her siblings footsteps.
“My family has let me help when they breed them,” she said. “It’s just fun.”
Having to handle an animal she couldn’t begin to have the strength to pick up doesn’t phase her in the slightest, and she said it sometimes makes her feel powerful just being in control. The only part of what makes her nervous is how the judges will respond.
“Sometimes I’m just nervous that I just might get something bad and I won’t get to place,” Hawkins said.
When she was finished for the day with the show, Hawkins let out some tears that had nothing to do with the results. They were geared toward not being able to show more animals because she had shown all of her entries and didn’t have more to do.
The competitor in her is already being unleashed. And she has her eyes set on a great goal for next year.
“Next year maybe I’ll be grand champion,” Hawkins said.
Contact Steven Wright at 937-502-4498 and follow on X (formerly Twitter) @Steven_Wright_.
