Mount Pleasant girl wins swine competition
Nine-year-old Alexis Tabaj of Mount Pleasant is still smiling over her win as 4-H grand champion market swine at this year’s Fayette County Fair. Officials decided the competition Tuesday night at the Indoor Arena with the honors of reserve grand champion going to Joshua Crawford of Uniontown.
“I wasn’t sure (I was going to win) because there were a lot of nice ones,’ said Tabaj, the daughter of John and Marcy Tabaj and a fourth-grade student at Ramsey Elementary School in the Mount Pleasant School District.
Asked how she felt when she won, Tabaj said, “I felt real good.’
Interviewed Thursday during the dairy cattle showing and fitting show at the Indoor Arena, Tabaj reported her swine was a Hamp cross that weighed 261 pounds.
Tabaj said she also placed first with her steer in showmanship in the junior division and junior reserve champion for her Holstein cattle.
This year, Tabaj had 4-H projects in market swine, beef, horse and dairy cattle. This is her second year to participate in 4-H.
Commenting on the organization, Tabaj said, “4-H is a lot of fun and I learn a lot of stuff every time I show.’
She’s not the only won in her family showing. Although too young for 4-H, Tabaj’s sister Alyssa, 7, and John Jr., 6, both show dairy cattle in open class.
So what does Tabaj do with all her ribbons?
She said, “I hang them in my room for all my friends to see.’
Other results of the 4-H Market Swine Show include: champion lightweight, Thomas Kurutz of Smock; reserve champion lightweight, Kara Marietta of New Salem; champion middleweight, Cody Quarrick of Uniontown; reserve champion middleweight, Jacob Diamond of Smithfield; champion heavyweight, Alexis Tabaj and reserve heavyweight, Joshua Crawford.
MEANWHILE, one of the most prestigious competitions of the Fayette County Fair takes place today at 10 a.m. with the 4-H and Vocational Supreme Showmanship Contest.
The competition will test the skills of seven youths as they show off animals in seven different breeds to the best of their advantage. These seven contestants were selected in competition this week among each of these seven breeds.
The contestants include: sheep, Jeffrey Ansell of Scottdale; swine, Joshua Poole of Connellsville; market goats, Larry Ansell of Scottdale; breeding goat, Chelsey Kreinbrook of Dawson; beef cattle, E.J. Regula of Brownfield; dairy cattle Eric Hixson of Connellsville; and horse, Alexandria Bryner of Vanderbilt.
The fair catalog explained that separate judges will be provided for each breed. All judging results will be tabulated privately and not announced until prior to the 4-H Livestock Auction, which will be held at 6 p.m. in the Indoor Arena.