Friday may be the day where everything at the fair is winding down, but the excitement at the fair is not over until after the annual Pig and Calf Scramble. This has been a tradition at the Clark County Fair since the mid 1950’s, but this year’s group had a different ending that was a first for the Scramble.
The kiddie scramble was first and there were multiple chances for kids to win prizes. They had separate age categories and four pigs to “catch” in each category. The kids did not have to catch the pig exactly, but be the first one to untie a ribbon from around its waist. The first kid to untie a ribbon in each category won a bike. The next three to untie a ribbon were given smaller prizes.
After all the kiddie scrambles were complete, the track area that was being used for the scramble was watered down to make it extra muddy for the next contestants which was one of the main events.
To get into the pig scramble, females from schools all over the county submitted applications and an essay on why they wanted to participate in the scramble. They needed to be a member of a 4-H group or FFA chapter, but they did not need to have shown pigs in the past. The boys participating in the calf scramble had to do the same.
Trucks loaded with friends sit around three sides of the scramble arena and each participant gets one truck. There is a meeting before the fair to determine where each scramble participants support team will be positioned around the arena. Each group usually makes matching t-shirts to show support for their participant and most even make signs to hang on the fence.
This year there were 30 girls in the scramble and 15 pigs to be given away. They separated the participants into two heats with 14 girls in the first heat and seven pigs released and 16 girls in the second heat with eight pigs to catch. After the arena had been watered down, officials came out to make a start line and a winner’s ring in the middle.
The nerves were high as the girls waited to enter the ring for their chance to wrestle a pig. Most girls were spending time duct taping their shoes to their feet so they would not lose them in the mud and then duct taping the bottom of their jeans to their legs and shoes to keep mud from getting all in their leg. They were also spending time decorating their helmets.
Each girl was then introduced as she ran into the mud through a tunnel of past scramble contestants who were there to help coach them and wrangle pigs when they were done. The past contestants were wearing blue and white shirts while this year’s participants were wearing white and yellow shirts so they could be easily identified.
They released the pigs and then blew the whistle. The girls took off from the start line to be the first one on a pig. Once a girl gets a hold of a pig it becomes hers and the other contestants have to back off. Most pigs are grabbed up right at the beginning, but the other girls wait around them just in case the pig is able to wiggle free. The goal is to carry, drag, or do anything you have to in order to get your pig in the winner’s ring in the middle of the arena. If the girls cannot bring the pig to the circle in twenty minutes, they have to release it and let someone else have a try at it.
In the first heat, Kylie Farquer from Northwestern was the first to bring a pig into the winner’s ring in a matter of minutes. Girls from Northeastern took the next two pigs to the circle and Mackenzie Grimm coming in second with Katelyn Dietrich coming in soon after. Madyson Fagan from the Global Impact STEM Academy won the fourth pig and Faith Gundolf from Northwestern came in next. With only two pigs left, the girls fought hard to bring the pigs into the ring. Alaina Fisher from Emmanuel Christian brought the sixth pig into the winner’s ring with Tecumseh student Gatlyn Berner winning the final pig of the first round.
The second round began just as the first, but the pigs seemed to be a bit more skittish and wanted to run around which made it harder for the girls to catch them. Laramie Reed from Northeastern was the first to win a pig. Tecumseh student Taylor Hendrixon was second and Grace Holmes from Shawnee was third. Greenon saw its first student get a pig to the winner’s ring as Alison Rairden carried her pig to the circle and Kenton Ridge saw its first winner as Mackenzie Klosterman brought her pig to the winner’s ring. The last two pigs were the toughest to catch and actually wiggled away from the first girls that caught them. Shiann Johnson from Northwestern won a pig and Ally Whittaker from Greenon was able to struggle her pig into the winner’s circle to take home the last pig.
The girls do not actually get to keep the pigs they catch as they would be too big by the time the next fair came around. At the beginning of April, they call all the winners in and let them select from the donated pigs that they wish to have. The first choice goes to the girl who got their pig to the winner’s ring in the shortest amount of time.
The water truck came out again to make the arena muddier for the calf scramble. Officials re-chalked the starting line and the winner’s ring. The participants then came out to start the main event. Like the girls, the boys main goal is to get the calf into the winner’s ring, but they have a piece of rope in their belt that they have to make into a halter and properly put that halter on the calf before getting it into the winner’s ring.
The calves this year ranged in weight between 380 pounds to 485 pounds. The competitors were wearing white shirts and last year’s participants and this year’s coaches were wearing blue long sleeves shirt. The boys also duct taped their shoes to their feet and wore helmets for safety.
Unlike the girls who take off from the starting line when the whistle blows, the guys took it slow because they knew they needed to conserve their energy. The first to halter their calf and drag it to the winner’s ring was Carson Jones from Global Impact STEM Academy. Not far behind him was Northeastern student Tanner Litteral followed by David Gehert from Tecumseh. The fourth to wrangle their calf was Bryce Grim from Southeastern.
Luke Wilson was able to get a halter on a calf, but that calf and him were hit by another calf running around and the veterinarian on site was afraid the calf was hurt, so they gave Wilson the win even though he did not get it to the winner’s ring.
After every attempt was made to help the remaining boys catch a calf, the scramble was finally called and the other two calves were sent back to the farm. Some of the contestants had to be taken out with mild injuries and/or exhaustion. At first, they announced that there would be a lottery for the final two calves, but after some consideration this was overturned.
“We did not want anybody else to get hurt and decided to end it before the final two cows were caught,” Greg Kaffenbarger, who was the official out in the arena, said, “The board unanimously decided that if a kid didn’t catch a calf, they did not deserve to win one in a lottery.”
This is the first time in history that any calf has gone back to the farm after a scramble. The lottery has only been done on a few occasions due to inclement weather.
