MOUNT VERNON – After winning her age group as a 17-year-old last summer, Kaylie Crouch didn’t have much on her need-to-improve list heading into this year’s fair.
The swine showman from Gambier had it all – pacing, control, technique – and she felt confident about defending her title. She did, however, feel the need to improve in one area: “keeping her cool.”
She failed miserably.
When Judge Jenna Siegel announced Crouch would take home her second straight trophy on Sunday, she couldn’t help but break down. Tears filled her eyes as she stood still near the corner of the ring. She was stunned.
She reacted similarly to winning the night’s ultimate prize three hours later – Master Showman – thereby proclaiming her the best in the arena, regardless of age group.
“I wish I could [have kept] my cool,” Crouch, her own loudest critic, said afterwards. “But I was getting pretty excited out there.”
Who could blame her? The East Knox graduate had just cemented herself into Knox County swine showmanship lore. Her performances Sunday – both to win her age group and to win Master Showman – were nearly flawless.
On a brutally hot and humid night inside the Swine Arena, Crouch and her hog, Piper, worked in tandem. The 18-year-old competition came down to two showmen – Crouch and David Hilton, of Centerburg, who placed second last year as well. Siegel gave the nod to Crouch for her courteousness; instead of crowding the judge, Crouch made sure to show her hog and move to the back, giving others a chance to perform.
Crouch’s focus also made an impression on Siegel, as she constantly kept her eyes up and her hog close.
“I’m a very intense person and I love a very intense showman,” Siegel explained to the crowd.
Crouch gave all the credit to her hog after her first-place performance.
“He does a really good job of keeping his head up,” she said, “and I feel like that helped with the intensity when I drove him around.”
The same approach worked for Crouch in the final drive. She entered the ring alongside nine other age-group winners and immediately stood out from the pack. Siegel noted that Crouch had complete control of her hog, turning Piper whatever direction she wished in order to show the judge all sides.
“I felt like he moved really well. I was able to show of all the angles,” Crouch said afterwards. “He had his head up, he just looked good.”
As the bleachers began to clear and Crouch clutched the Master Showmanship trophy in her hands, former champion Luke McKee entered the arena to congratulate her.
“How does it feel?” he asked.
McKee won Master Showman last year, and he also finished his career as a back-to-back age group champion. He and Crouch developed a friendship over the years as swine showmen, and they now attend the same college – Ohio State University Agricultural Technical Institute in Wooster.
“We grew up together doing this,” Crouch said proudly.
On the long walk back to Piper’s pen, Crouch was met by a barrage of friends and family. She hugged and laughed and cried. This was her last year in 4-H – her last year showing pigs – and for it to end like this? She still couldn’t believe it.
“It means everything to me,” Crouch said. “I’ve grown up doing this my whole life.”
UNDER-HOG STORY: Back in April, the odds of Alexis McMullen winning any sort of swine showmanship competition this summer seemed slim.
When the Gambier 17-year-old began training her new hog, Charlie, “he didn’t walk, he ran.” He was undisciplined and sporadic. In her six years showing hogs, McMullen had never seen anything like this.
“He’s been one of the worst hogs to walk,” she said bluntly on Sunday.
But because she’s a champion, the adversity only fueled McMullen.
She worked with Charlie every day – even twice a day in the month-and-a-half leading up to the fair – to break him in. Over time, McMullen began seeing improvement. Through months of hard work, she and Charlie developed a bond.
And on Sunday, that bond became evident as the duo waltzed to a first-place finish. It was McMullen’s second straight age-group title.
“[It means] everything,” said McMullen, already looking forward to next year’s competition, which will be her last. “Just the support, it’s so much different. Like, this will be something that I’ll miss forever. You only get to do this for so long, so it’s special.”
Siegel commended McMullen for using the entire arena, utilizing long passes to show off her hog. She said McMullen and Charlie “worked like a team,” and that McMullen exhibited masterful control throughout the competition.
McMullen thought otherwise, but she still gladly accepted the honor.
“Honestly, I’m not gonna lie to you, I thought he did not walk very well at all,” she said. “He’s walked way better. But it’s so hot, he’s used to walking later because of all the heat.”
Next year will be McMullen’s final shot at glory – she fell short in the final drive on Sunday – and a chance to three-peat in her class. She’s improved each year, going from fifth place as an 11-year-old to where she stands now.
“When I was little, this was definitely not my night. I rode the fence, didn’t know what to do,” she said with a smile. “And then one day, it just clicked.”
MAKING MOUNT VERNON PROUD: Mount Vernon’s Gavin Burke won the 16-year-old age group on Sunday, battling the blistering heat to emerge victorious in the night’s most competitive show.
Like McMullen, he said his hog has been a work in progress. Burke worked with him for 30 minutes every night since May. At first, the pig (referred to by Burke’s family as “No. 16”) would run and hide in the back of his pen. But by the end of Burke’s summer training, the hog seemed eager to walk every night.
“I just had to keep working with him and getting him to warm up,” said Burke, the Mount Vernon FFA chapter president.
Siegel applauded Burke and his pig for their teamwork on Sunday, as they moved lockstep and never lost focus. The duo moved quickly together throughout the arena, Burke with his eyes up the entire time.
After finishing second in his age group last year, Burke said it felt good to take home the trophy on Sunday. He’d came close many times before, but had never won it.
“Ever since I can remember doing showmanship, I’ve always been beat, and it’s usually the same people,” Burke said. “It feels good to get over that, kind of like a speed bump or a barrier, and to go on farther.”
Another Mount Vernon FFA member, Anna Patterson, won the 15-year-old age group.
Siegel said Patterson came in with a purpose and “never backed off.” Patterson, who won the 14-year-old competition last year, spoke humbly about what it meant to win back-to-back titles.
“I’m happy to make other people happy – the people that have helped me,” she said. “I feel like they feel like they did something for me, and it just makes me happy. That was my goal.”
Already in her eighth year showing hogs, Patterson said she’s been steadily improving in the event. She’s received training tips from McKee, who she befriended through swine showmanship, and has dedicated countless hours to her hogs each year.
“I have a soft spot for pigs,” she said with a grin. “I really like it. It’s a challenge, you don’t have a halter to control them. That’s a big thing. A lot of people think it’s easy, it’s not. You let them out of their pen for the first time ever and they run, you know? You have to catch them. You can’t run after them, they get crazy. So I like the challenge, I do.”
At just 15 years old, Patterson placed third in the Master Showmanship competition on Sunday. She’ll return next year looking for gold.
