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The Callaway High FFA showmanship team enjoyed the 2024-25 season and got to help make an impact beyond their own achievements.

The quartet of Carter Pelt, Kinley Smith, Karlie Walker and Kaitlyn Williams spent the last several months traveling around the state to various competitions, showing off their pigs as they try to meet various standards set by the judges.

“You have two things. You have showmanship, and then you have market,” Williams said. “Showmanship is based off of you and how you present your pig, their skin and hair. Do you have control of your pig? Does your pig have drive as in does it stop and go or is it just straight go? And then you have market, which is based on the structure of the pig, the look of the pig, yeah, bone mass, its muscles, etc.”

This season culminated in multiple placers at state. 

For state, I finished sixth in market and at Upson-Lee I actually finished second in market,” Walker said.

Williams’ pig finished fifth in her weight class at state while Smith earned a 10th-place finish at state.

“I didn’t know if I wanted to do this at first, but the day you get the pig it all changes,” Smith said. 

A lot of work goes into building a relationship with a pig so that they are fully functional when going to a competition. The students can’t miss a day of practice or risk setting themselves back.

“It’s a lot of work, you have to bathe them, clean their stalls,” said Williams, who completed her third year as a showman. “Honestly it’s like taking care of a dog.”

“It’s just learning and understanding how much time it actually takes to take care of the pig. If you aren’t out there every day working with it then it will learn to control you rather than the other way around,” she added.

The most impactful moment for the four students was not a high finish by one of their own pigs, but the work they did with The Mighty Showman which gives the children with disabilities the chance to show pigs. All four Callaway students served as mentors for a member of The Mighty Showmanship and what an experience it was.

“They all got a banner and a belt with a buckle, it was so cute,” Williams said. “There was a little bit of a barrier with the kid I was working with because he was non-verbal for the most part. But he knew three words: no, yes and pig. He loved it.”

Williams and Walker, two seniors, will be saying goodbye to the FFA team, but Smith and Pelt plan to be back for another year. Pelt, just a freshman, has worked with kids with disabilities before and proudly wears a necklace around his neck with the letter G on it in remembrance of his dear friend Gavin Pijenburg, Pelt’s best friend who had a disability and passed away last year. Pelt’s work with the Mighty Showman helps him feel connected to Gavin in a way.

“The kid I was working with came from a family that breeds pigs, so he knew what he was doing,” Pelt said. “A lot of the kids we mentored knew what they were doing and it was fun to see them show pigs just like we do.”

Pelt and Smith will have some time away from the pig pens for a little while, at least until they have to pick out a new piglet in Sept.

“We will get our pigs in September and then start showing them in December,” Smith said. “There is a little overlap with softball and baseball, but not too much and I love doing it.”