Muscatine County Fair
Before showing livestock at the Iowa State Fair, most young Iowans compete at the county level first. Step inside the ring with 11-year-old Jack Theobald, who’s showing his 4-H market hogs for the first time at the Muscatine County Fair on this extra story from our documentary Behind the Blue Ribbon.
Behind the Blue Ribbon will be available for streaming starting Aug. 5, 2025.
Transcript
Jack Theobald: Hopefully, I win a banner today with them. This pig right here is my best one and he's my heaviest. I'm excited and nervous because with him, with them both, I have a lot of competition, especially with him. He just has the best framing. Oh, yeah. That feels good, doesn't it?
Jake Theobald: Jack was breeding pigs as soon as he could walk, even going to kindergarten, explaining to the teacher and all the kids how lay out sows.
Jack: Let's make you all pretty. I have this spray called Revive and then I just brush them, brush all the shavings off and then I use my hog sprayer and I spray them all off. That's cold.
Chelsea: I think for us because Jake and I have such a passion for agriculture it's easy for us to pass this on to our kids. It's easy for us to be excited and to pass that excitement on to them because this is what gets us excited, this is what keeps us going every day.
Jack: Mom, how much longer? Look at the judge smile and shake his hand.
Chelsea: And you keep the pig between you and the judge?
Jack: Yup.
Barn loudspeaker: Attention in the barns. First call for junior showmanship to the ring please. First call for junior showmanship to the ring.
Jack: Get up. Get up. Oww! 305 lbs right on my toe.
Jake: You didn't need that toe, did you?
Jack: How much did your pig weigh?
Other participant: 233.
Jack: Guess how much he weighs? 305. I'm still having to take him to the state fair. He's getting put on a diet.
Ring announcer: Entering the ring, we have our junior class of showmen.
Jake: I would say all year long you worry about the future of agriculture you know just because you're not around all the young people. You see Jack and see our other kids around us but you kind of worry like, is there really a future? But then you go to fair, you go to the county fair, you go to state fair and then you see the kids that are involved and then it makes you a little bit more hopeful for the future I guess.