Page 25 of The Wedding Ranch
“She’s a good mom.” Lorri was fascinated by this young man.
“I won a blue ribbon with her the first time I showed her. She was a lot littler back then. Her name is Petunia. She’s retired except for this breeding swine project now. I use a younger gilt from one of her other litters for the showmanship class.”
“Guilt?” Lorri had never heard the term.
“G-i-l-t.” He smiled. “That’s a young female who has never had a litter of her own.” His cheeks reddened slightly.
“You must be very proud of Petunia.” Lorri was impressed by his knowledge of the animals and how polite he was. “What happened to her ear? Did her piglets chew on it?”
The kid laughed, slapping his hand on his leg. “No, ma’am. Don’t think she’d stand for that kind of behavior. We notchall of our pigs’ ears. It’s how we identify them. You know, for breeding, immunizations, and all that.”
“I had no idea. Doesn’t that hurt?”
“Only for a minute. Some of them don’t make a peep. Can’t be too bad.”
“That is so interesting. Maybe I’ll see you out there showing later.”
“Maybe. My pens are the four at the end of this aisle.” He pointed to where orange and blue banners hung. “I’ll be in the senior showmanship class.”
“I’ll check it out. Thanks for chatting with me.”
“Yes, ma’am. Have a good day at the fair.”
The smell didn’t seem as bad now that she was in here. Fans blew throughout and she wasn’t really sure if it was to keep the animals cool or the stink down, but either way it seemed to be working.
She stopped to read one of the project boards hanging in the next pig pen. These kids worked hard on this stuff. There hadn’t been a 4-H program in her school that she’d known of, but these posters would’ve been right up her alley. She enjoyed looking at all the different styles. Some of the girls had bedazzled their posters and even had what looked like a onesie on their pig, probably to keep them clean for the show, would be her guess.
Something tugged at her hand and she squealed and jumped back, laughing when she realized that a black and pink pig with a big notch in one of his floppy ears had reached over through the fence to snag a lick of her cotton candy. He looked innocent, except for the blue tuft on his nose that was a dead giveaway.
“You don’t even look sorry.” She glanced down at the paper cone. It probably wasn’t appropriate to feed the animals, but he did start it. She lowered the cone and let him steal one more nibble before tossing the rest into the trash can. “What’s fair is fair at the fair, Mr. Piggy.”
Chapter Eight
Cheers rose from outside the livestock tent. Lorri made her way through the maze of pens to see what all the excitement was about.
There in the greenway between the big tents, a man announced the next round in a herding dog trial over a scratchy PA system. A whistle blew and someone in the middle of the field opened a gate. Five fluffy sheep stepped cautiously out of the pen, then took off running.
Lorri watched the first dog, a small black and white border collie, begin his run. He moved to whistles and hand motions from his trainer on the other side of the field. Stopping, lowering himself close to the ground, and walking forward slowly in that crouched position, then waiting for the next command. It was captivating. Finally, the dog forced the sheep right back into the pen where they started. Applause filled the air. The dog ran back to his handler, dancing and spinning in circles.
Another contestant stepped next to the flag at the startingline, with his dog sitting at his side ready for their turn. The sheep were let out of the cage again. The judge raised his hand in the air, then dropped it. The handler immediately blew his whistle and the dog raced out, changing direction and speed with each subsequent tweet.
Across the way a small boy wearing a white collared shirt and black pants led a full-size cow into the tent adjacent to the one she’d just been in. All by himself!
Everywhere she turned there was something going on. She meandered through the crowd toward the other tent and poked her head inside. The bleachers were filling fast. She pardoned her way to an empty spot near the top. At least from here she had a good view of everything.
The emcee announced the junior showmanship class, explaining that the judges would be scoring the exhibitor on how he handled the animal and knowledge on the breed. They were also being scored on project books. There was a lot to this animal-showing stuff.
Twelve kids stood smiling at a judge with one hand on their lead line connected to a halter on the steer. Those steers had to outweigh the showmen by at least ten times. They used their foot or a stick to help align the large animals’ feet, making sure they were positioned to show off their best features.
She lifted her phone and took a picture. It was hard not to pick a favorite among the class. A little girl with her hair in braids tied with green ribbons never quit smiling. Even when her steer moved his foot, she simply lunged against his leg to realign him. She made it look as easy as a dance move.
Across the way she spotted Tinsley talking to a man. Lorriclimbed down from the bleachers to grab a spot closer to the show ring for the next class.
A moment later, Tinsley slid into the spot next to her. “I’m so glad you made it. Are you having fun?”
“Yes, I am. I was going to come visit you in your booth after this. Did I miss it?” Lorri lifted her map and schedule. “See. I had it marked and everything.”
“I’ll be at the expo building all evening. You haven’t missed a thing. I was taking a little break to watch the 4-H classes. I loved 4-H when I was a kid. There’s so much work that gets put into these projects.”
