Plant City-area students brought home titles to be proud of at the Hillsborough County Fair, the last two weekends in October.
Hannah Spivey, a freshman at Plant City High School, earned the honor of Grand Champion, upon her first time competing in the fair’s poultry show.
Spivey first started showing birds last year, when she began to develop her SAE for FFA. She chose chickens instead of pigs or cattle because they require less space, provide eggs and do not need to eventually be sold.
Spivey now has 11 birds. She purchased her white, winning hen at last year’s Florida Strawberry Festival and named her Tundra.
“She was extremely young when I first got her,” Spivey said. “I had to raise her up from a baby.”
She also has to train her birds, like any other animal, to behave correctly during shows.
“One of the hardest things to do is trying to get them to behave properly when it comes to getting them ready for shows,” Spivey said. “Chickens aren’t the most cooperative animal.”
Spivey said one of her favorite aspects of competing in the County Fair was getting to interact with so many people who were knowledgeable about poultry.
“They were all very nice to me when they told me ‘congratulations’ on my bird,” Spivey said.
It also was Tiffany Henry’s first time competing at the fair. She represented Simmons Career Center FFA in the swine show. The chapter’s pig was named Grand Champion.
“I came into it thinking that we weren’t even going to place at all,” Henry said. “But, I definitely think this was a miracle and a God intervention in this case.”
Unlike Spivey and her birds, Henry didn’t expect to see the pig again after the show.
“Usually we go into it knowing that they are going to be eaten at the end,” Henry said.
Simmons’ pig sold for $13 a pound and weighed 272. All of the $3,536 went back to the FFA chapter.
The only pig at the fair that was worth more than Simmons’ belonged to Lane Harrell, and sold for $14.50 a pound. Harrell gave the money to his mother, Susan Harrell, who has been deeply involved with local agriculture students for years and is currently battling cancer.
Both winners of the Junior and Senior Harvest Queen Pageant also were local students. Shelby St. Amant, Senior Queen, lives in Lithia and attends Hillsborough Community College in Plant City. She has been competing in pageants for nearly 10 years.
“It’s a real confidence booster for me,” St. Amant said. “I’ve definitely gained a lot of self-esteem from doing pageants.”
This was St. Amant’s third year competing in the Senior Harvest Queen pageant, after two years competing in the junior division. Recently, St. Amant also has been crowed in the Keel and Curley Miss Blueberry Queen competition, the Newsome FFA Sweetheart Pageant and the Pioneer Heritage Sweetheart Pageant.
WINNERS
POULTRY
Grand Champion Poultry: Hannah Spivey, Plant City High School
SWINE
Grand Champion Swine: Tiffany Henry, Simmons Career Center
Reserve Champion Swine: Ben Gude, Turkey Creek Middle School
CATTLE
Grand Champion Heifer: Madi Conrad, Tomlin Middle School
Reserve Grand Champion Heifer: Shalee Conrad, homeschooled
Grand Champion Steer: Morgan Lee, Strawberry Crest High School
Reserve Grand Champion Steer: Clay Joyner, Strawberry Crest High School
HARVEST QUEEN PAGEANT
Harvest Queen: Shelby St. Amant, Hillsborough Community College
Junior Harvest Queen: Kaylee Stallard, Turkey Creek Middle School
Contact Catherine Sinclair at csinclair@plantcityobserver.com.