What could be more fun than a pig race at The Great Geauga County Fair?Judging by the packed small grandstand Friday afternoon and evening, not…
What could be more fun than a pig race at The Great Geauga County Fair?
Judging by the packed small grandstand Friday afternoon and evening, not a whole lot else.
Held every two hours, the pig races lasted only about four to five seconds each for four races, but the event drew in enough people that it left some spectators standing to see the action.
It began with rock music heard at major league stadiums to stir up excitement. Then an announcer chimed in to add more noise as well as offer some humorous color commentary.
In the stands were Peg and Tom Freese of Newbury Town-ship with their grandson, Ryan Hamilton, of Virginia.
It wasn’t Tom’s first rodeo. He said the pigs were fast runners, appeared to be very clean and weren’t the hogs that usually end up on your dinner table.
“These are special racing pigs,” he explained.
When asked what attracted her to the pig racing arena, Julie Knaus, of Mentor, laughed and said, “So, I can mark this off my bucket list.”
She attended the event with her husband, Ray, along with Linda Jaenson and her husband from Concord Township.
“Actually, we dragged them here,” Jaenson said, adding they saw it listed in the program and said, “we have to watch this.”
“It’s my first pig race, so I don’t know what to expect,” Knaus said. “Every year, we come to this fair. It’s the best one around. There’s a lot of good energy. I feel connected with my rural family when I’m here.”
The race announcer warned the race was about to start. He said the pigs were “pearl pigs” — they only race a few times a week with days off between to rest.
They looked clean, in the pink and well cared for.
“They don’t race for money or glory,” he explained. “They race for an Oreo cookie.”
And, they did. The pigs were fed a cookie at the end of each race.
Two heats were held with the males. They were introduced with names such as Richard Piggly and Dale Ernhog.
The announcer said one of the entrants in the race had to sit out because he pulled a hamstring in his last race.
The races are short-track events. Photographers could only take two or three rapid-fire shots each race.
The female pigs were the faster runners. Maybe that was due to their names, such as Lindsay Lohog, Hilary Rodham and Vanna Swine.
In the finale race, the males and females were combined into one hot mess. It began with squeals at the starting gate as they jostled for positioning.
Then in seconds, the females left their male counterparts in the dust as they trotted to get their cookie.
“Lindsay Lohog is the winner,” declared the announcer. “But due to her parole violation, she has to forfeit.”
He announced a male pig as the winner to the boos and jeers of the crowd.
After the races, children could purchase food pellets to hand-feed goats, pet a large box turtle and a small camel in a penned in petting zoo.
It was difficult to tell who was enjoying it more, the children or the animals.
