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MURFREESBORO – Young 4-H’ers entered the livestock arena on Wednesday with their animals in the hopes of walking away with a first-place ribbon.

The 43rd annual Hertford-Northampton 4-H Livestock Show and Sale was held on June 11 in Murfreesboro. The event is coordinated every year by staff from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension offices of Northampton, Hertford, and Bertie counties.

4-H participants, ranging in age from 9 to 18 years old, compete in the showmanship and market class divisions by showing their animals in the livestock arena to be judged. “Cloverbuds,” which are young 4-H’ers aged 5 to 8, participate in a non-competitive show.

The animals this year included cattle (heifer and steer), swine, goats, and lambs.

The judge was Katherine Hassell from Elizabeth City, bringing years of experience in livestock showing and judging. She teaches agriculture to K-12 students and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in agricultural education from North Carolina A&T State University.

Up first was the showmanship division, where participants are judged on how well they exhibit their animal. During the competition, the judge will ask them questions about their animal to give them a chance to show how much they’ve learned while raising their animal over the past few months. The participants in this part of the competition are divided by age.

Showmanship winners, by age division, this year were as follows:

Heifer, intermediate: Jenna Cuthbertson (1st)

Heifer, senior: Emily Cuthbertson (1st)

Steer, senior: David Cuthbertson (1st)

Swine, junior: Bryleigh Dixon (1st)

Swine, senior: Chloe Long (1st), Colby Long (2nd), Rylan Dixon (3rd)

Goat, junior: River Joyner (1st), Jacob Dalzell (2nd), Presley Dean Ordnung (3rd)

Goat, intermediate: Jase Pope (1st), Aleigha Dalzell (2nd)

Goat, senior: Jessa Pope (1st), Kadence Joyner (2nd)

Lamb, junior: Colin Ordnung (1st), Boone Usalis (2nd)

Lamb, intermediate: Collin Parker (1st), Gage Toms (2nd), Drake Creech (3rd), Quincy Ordnung (4th)

Cloverbud participants included Piper Joyner (showing a goat), Andrew Freeman, and Addison Rountree (who both showed lambs).

Some competitors also entered their animals in the market or breeding class competition. For that, the animals are judged on their muscular development, finish, structure, size and carcass qualities, or maternal development and breeding qualities. Like the showmanship competition, the 4-H’ers are expected to share the knowledge they’ve gained from the experience by answering questions from the judge.

Animals in the market class division are divided by weight (light or heavy). Winners in each weight division were as follows:

Swine (lightweight): Bryleigh Dixon (1st), Chloe Long (2nd)

Swine (heavyweight): Colby Long (1st), Rylan Dixon (2nd)

Goat (lightweight, cross class): Jacob Dalzell (1st), River Joyner (2nd), Kadence Joyner (3rd)

Goat (lightweight, boer class): Presley Dean Ordnung (1st)

Goat (heavyweight, boer class): Jase Pope (1st), Jessa Pope (2nd), Aleigha Dalzell (3rd)

Lamb (lightweight): Collin Parker (1st)

Lamb (heavyweight): Drake Creech (1st)

The first-place winners in each market class are then judged to select a grand and reserve champion. Those champions were as follows:

Heifer Grand Champion: Jenna Cuthbertson

Heifer Reserve Champion: Emily Cuthbertson

Steer Grand Champion: David Cuthbertson

Swine Grand Champion: Colby Long

Swine Reserve Champion: Bryleigh Dixon

Goat Grand Champion: Jase Pope

Goat Reserve Champion: Jessa Pope

Lamb Grand Champion: Drake Creech

Lamb Reserve Champion: Collin Parker

After all the judging was concluded, a “fun show” was held for anyone wishing to get in the ring and learn how to show an animal, with 4-H’ers and parents helping out.

The livestock show and sale is an all-day event for participants, beginning in the morning when they bring their animals for the weigh-in portion of the competition. It then concludes later in the evening with dinner and then the annual auction.

Parker Phillips served as the auctioneer again this year, a role he’s held since the inception of the local livestock show. Landen Morris was this year’s assistance auctioneer. Local businesses bid on the grand and reserve champion animals.

Northampton Cooperative Extension Livestock Agent Brandon Pike said the livestock show this year had youth participating from all three counties, and he was glad to see all the animal species represented in the show this time too.

“We had more guests and visitors to the show and to the sale as a result of all the counties support and the variety of animals,” he continued. “The youth had an amazing time and were well supported by our amazing community members. We appreciate all the support and look forward to our continued growth in the future.”

Anyone interested in participating in next year’s show can reach out to their local Cooperative Extension Office for more information.