XENIA — A number of local celebrities traded their recognizable work roles and uniforms for some time in the swine barn show ring Aug. 2 during the Greene County Fair’s local celebrity adult swine show.
While the pressure was on — as many of the participants had never showed a hog in their entire lives — it was the Xenia Daily Gazette’s own Scott Halasz who took home the gold.
“It’s not as easy as it appears from the bleachers,” Halasz said as he wiped his forehead, trophy in hand. “I have a lot of respect for the FFA and 4-H kids — they make it look easy but there’s so many things to remember.”
They were first instructed to keep their eyes on the judge and follow directions.
Upon the second round, after answering basic swine-related questions, they then were instructed to close the gate behind them and keep themselves from coming in-between the judge’s eyes and the hog.
By the second round, the local celebrities who weren’t doing as well were asked to step out of the ring with their hog, eliminating all but the final three participants.
The judge had even tested Halasz, walking around him and his hog in circles to see how he would position himself before finally scooping a handful of sawdust into the pig’s back. Halasz said as the judge bent down to reach for the sawdust, he already had his hand on the brush in his back pocket.
The Gazette’s ad representative Nancy LaBeau, a seasoned hog showman, shouted instructions from the sidelines.
“He was very trainable, listened and followed directions well,” she said.
