Concerned Mom at Minnesota State Fair

This is a picture I took of a concerned mom at the Minnesota State Fair Swine Show. Her daughter was showing her gilt and she was talking with the judge in the show ring. The judge places all the gilts in the class from top to bottom and then explains the reasons for his placings. There is another judge in the ring observing how each 4-H member shows their pig. He is the Showmanship Judge. Showmanship is all about how well the 4-H member has trained, cleaned and clipped and showed the pigs strengths to the judge.

It is always nice to see the judges talking with 4-H members about what they did well and maybe things they could improve on. The judge also explains the strengths of their pig and things that are less than ideal. This then would help the 4-H member when they are picking their show pigs for next year. I guess the show went well for this concerned mom because after the class she had a big smile!