4H Buckaroo

Among the many activities that our children were involved in, during our years in Yakima, Scouts and 4 H left the most scars upon me, physically and psychologically. Of all those scars, the nightmare of backwards pig riding heads the list.

Becca, in Junior High (1995) developed a desire to raise pigs for her 4H project. I suppose that cute piglets were the impetus but as we all know, cute little piglets grow up to be BIG, ornery pigs! Hers certainly did. That year, she had two pigs, Rose and Lilly. Don’t ask ! How Becca decided on those two very un-porcine names, I will never know.

Sadly, earlier in the Spring, Rose had died from heat stroke, while we were away on a trip. Scott Brewer had been taking care of them but the water dish was overturned and when he found her later it was too late. (Keene had to bring the tractor shovel over to dig the grave in our field.) Anyhow, by the time for the West Valley 4H Fair arrived, Lilly was ready to show. That pig was BIG!

The 1930 Chevy truck was too high off the ground to use but the transportation problem was solved with Russ Daniels using his horse trailer. Vickie and Becca were doing pigs together and Vickie’s pig was in one of the stalls of the trailer. The other was vacant and waiting for Lilly. As Russ backed the trailer up to the pen, I loosened one side of the hog fence to use as a chute to aim Lilly towards the opening. All was in readiness.

Lilly was balky and did not want to leave her muddy, smelly haven, so I got in there and herded her into the chute. I must have cut quite a figure: rubber boots and shorts. Becca also was in her boots and squelching in the mud and ______ in the pen, holding the “gate” of hog wire to keep the chute intact.

Resignedly, Lilly began to trot down the alley towards the trailer when suddenly, right at the lip of the door, she turned around in a flash and bolted back towards her home. Nothing was in her way but ME! Squealing, she shot right at me and reacting too slowly to move, I found myself on top of the pig, hurtling backwards riding like a demented bronco buster. The salient image I have is of Russ Daniels face split into a huge grin as he laughed out loud.

Mercifully, I remember little of that ride except the coarse bristly feeling of the pig’s skin on my thighs. I think I fell off as Lilly bolted back into the pen…at least that is what I recollect. Of course, we had to do it all over again but this time Russ used a piece of plywood as a prod, right behind Lilly so she could not turn around to repeat her antics.

We were victorious in getting her into the trailer and the two pigs made it to the fair grounds. It was a successful show and sale. Lilly was best of show in her class (for meat) because she was so big. Becca was told that one more pound and she would have been over and disqualified. Maybe the exercise did her good.

I am grateful that Rebecca gave up doing pigs after that. I do not think I would have taken well to a career of being a stunt pig rodeo rider. Russ, and others, never let me forget my debut and to this day it brings smiles and laughs to us all.