Learning experience takes hold for young exhibitors

     Any parent or judge involved in animal shows at county and state fairs will tell you that the main idea is for kids to learn.

     That seemed to take hold this past summer for first-year exhibitors Kyle and Kayla Arduser of Monticello.

     Both had the chance to show pigs at both the Great Jones County Fair and the Iowa State Fair, got to enjoy a bit of success, and most importantly, learned a lot about what it takes to be an exhibitor.

     Kyle, age 10, showed one pig at the 4-H Swine Show at the GJCF, another in the Open Swine Show, and took that same animal to the state fair, where he earned a fifth-place ribbon in the Spotted division.

     Kyle said he had fun preparing himself and his animals for the shows, but also learned to deal with frustration.

     “Once you get in the ring there’s no one to help you with how to do things,” Kyle said. “You kind of have to just figure it out on your own. When I showed at the state fair, my pig liked to run around in the ring.”

     Having had the county fair experience did help Kyle at the state fair, he said.

     “It was better, because you kind of knew what was expected and what was going to happen,” Kyle said.

     The Monticello Middle School fifth-grader added that there are differences in how the shows are viewed.

     “There are higher expectations in the 4-H show,” he said. “In the open show they just do it for the people to have fun, but the 4-H shows are for you to learn a lot about your animal and know exactly what you need to do with them.”

     Eight-year-old Kayla, a second-grader at Carpenter Elementary School, finished ninth in the Duroc division at the state fair.

     “I was excited, and nervous,” Kayla said. “My pig wouldn’t go one way, she had to go a different direction (than what I wanted).”

     Their mother, Kellie Arduser, said the experience was good for them.

     “It’s about learning the responsibility,” Kellie said. “You’ve got to do more than show up on the day of the show. You have to feed them and you have to wash them and you have to walk them.”

     The preparation process mostly happened in Mechanicsville, where the kids’ grandparents, Ron and Bonnie Cook, live. Beginning in March, the Arduser family drove there at least once during the week and again on the weekends, spending 2-4 hours per practice session.

     “We talked about how you should walk the pigs, and how you never want to be between your animal and the judge,” Kellie said. “So when they’re practicing, how you wanted them to practice was how you want them to show. They were getting them used to moving how you wanted them to.”

     “We practiced walking with them so they got used to us,” Kyle said. “We practiced having Mom or Grandpa be the judge.”

     Their animals came from Ryan Toenjes and Toenjes Show Pigs. Both Kyle and Kayla had been showing sheep, starting in the Kiddie Sheep Show at age 3.

     They have learned the differences between the types of shows, and how the animals behave.

     “With sheep, you hold onto it and just have them follow you where you want them to go,” Kyle said. “With pigs you have to guide them in certain ways.”

     Kayla added: “With sheep you can hold them under the chin, but for pigs you just have to try to keep them there in one spot.”

     The youngsters said they enjoyed working with the pigs. Kyle said what he likes is, “just the fact that you get to show them and spend time with them and bond with them.”

     “I like learning how to walk them, and I like that they’re really soft,” Kayla said.

     “She likes to pet the animals,” said their father, Jason.

     Kellie said she showed while in the FFA program at what was then Olin High School.

     “My family raised pigs, and we went to hog shows all the time when I was growing up,” she said.

     When they are not working on preparing pigs for show, both kids are very active in other ways. They both take piano lessons and are involved in a variety of sports.