Breeder Central Showmanship
By, Rhonda McCurry
If Ella Bobell could give any piece of advice to showman across the country, it would be to practice patience while walking their pigs.
Though her age is only in the single digits, Bobell has probably put as many hours into her swine projects as most junior showmen. She has shown pigs since age three and works hard at home to train them to act just right.
Now, nine-year-old Bobell loves to show at the World Pork Expo, Illinois Club Pig Association shows and the NJSA Summer Spectacular each year. She takes care of up to eight pigs per season and loves showing because she gets to hang out with her family and friends and make new memories.
At first she brushes and pets new pigs, taming them and getting them used to her. Bobell says when the pig knows her well it’s time to open the pen gate. Usually the pig will walk out on its own but sometimes she has to have her dad’s help to move the pig its first time out. If the pig runs out of the gate she does not run after it because it will continue to run. If a pig runs Bobell walks to it, pets it and works to calm it down again.
Bobell likes to use the same whip to train her pigs at home and in the show ring. She used a whip this summer with a glass handle and says having a tassel on the end is important. Bobell wants her pig to see the same whip in the show ring so it will know to act the same as it did at home.
When training her pigs Bobell walks them on a path, making ten to thirteen laps around. This takes time but she says this routine is very important. Walking and exercising her pigs means she can keep them out in the ring longer. When the goal of the show ring is to never be penned, Bobell says she wants to be sure her pig has the endurance to last the entire drive in the ring.
But it’s not always easy. Bobell’s sister, Claire, had a pig named Cocoa and Bobell says the pig used to run every time the girls opened the pen gate. When Cocoa ran they would calm it down. It was part of the routine and Bobell said she and her sister learned to be patient. However, one time Cocoa hit the show ring the pig actually did a somersault. Bobell says she couldn’t believe when it happened.
“You should practice every day that you have,” Bobell says. “Make sure your pig is calm and relaxed and don’t get frustrated with it.”
Bobell says when her evenings are busy with homework and basketball practice she still makes time to walk her pigs. To prove it she also wears out three whips a year training her pigs to walk. There is never a time when she stops walking her pig. It takes training right up until her family leaves for a show in order to look good in the ring.
“You can tell in the ring if that pig is trained enough and it knows who you are,” she says. “I would tell everyone to be patient and make time to train and practice with your pig. That’s the most important part.”