Gripped tightly in his hand, he taps the whip across the flank of his prized Berkshire. He leads it around the sandy corral, showing off the hardy swine. The judges give a scrutinizing glance over the build of the pig, and at last they make their final decision.

Nathan Feuquay recently won Best in Show at the State Fair of Texas. He had been working with his swine since late spring of last year.

“Honestly, I really did not expect to win.” Feuquay said. “I had hoped to do well and place in at least the top four.”

Feuquay also showed a heifer as well as other swine. He also is very involved in the FFA where he competes in leadership development events.

“I really do not compete in much outside of FFA,” Feuquay said. “I compete on two FFA LDE teams, and I compete in the CDE teams in the spring. Other than that, it is really just showing.”

He had been working on this project since May of last year, and he never expected his gilt, Willow, to win. Feuquay also plans to compete in the same competition next year.

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“All it really took was a lot of work each day,” Feuquay said. “I would go down to the barn twice a day, morning and night, feed and walk my pig for 30 minutes to an hour; clean the pen; and of course weekly you have to bathe them and oil them daily.”

Feuquay loves pigs and spends his time caring for them because he believes there is a quality there that other animals don’t have. 

“People just think you are out there showing a pig, walking a pig, and feeding a pig,” Feuquay stated. “There is a lot of work people do not know that is behind the scenes.”