While her peers spend their weekends catching up on sleep, Oglethorpe County High School senior Raegan Poulnott is up early, painting pigs and preparing them for competition.
Yes, painting pigs.
For Poulnott, using paint to enhance her pigs’ natural black and white markings for competition is only a fraction of what it takes to succeed as an award-winning showman in regional and national livestock shows.
“You want to make them look very presentable and clean. That catches the judge's eye,” 17-year-old Poulnott said. “That’s one of my favorite parts, getting them ready to go in the ring.”
Raising pigs and competing in livestock shows has been a part of Poulnott’s life for as long as she can remember.
“Raegan has been showing pigs since she was 3 years old. Her older sister was showing before her, and we got her started,” said Ray Poulnott, her father and Oglethorpe County native. “I have been very proud of her hard work and dedication to this — it teaches a lot of responsibility.”
As a senior this year, Poulnott had one more accomplishment to add to her impressive resume of local livestock competitions: to compete at the national level.
A green ribbon now sits alongside several others — red, yellow and pink— in Poulnott’s growing collection of awards, each honoring years of hard work raising livestock.
This latest emerald addition came at the National Junior Swine Association show on Jan. 15 in Perry, Georgia. Poulnott impressed the judges and secured multiple awards in her first national event.
Judges praised her preparedness, technique and efficiency in guiding her animals through the arena, earning her a sixth-place overall finish as Senior Showman.
“There were over 100 people from all over the United States,” Poulnott said. “Your adrenaline definitely gets going, and you get nervous right before, but it’s so exciting. I love being in the ring and getting that experience.”
Poulnott hasn’t slowed down since the national competition.
She placed third overall at the Hart EMC Pig Classic in Franklin County on Jan. 24.
Now, she’s focused on preparing for the Oglethorpe Area Winter Livestock Show, which will be held at the Oglethorpe County Ag Education Center on Feb.15.
Oglethorpe County ranks third in Georgia for total livestock & aquaculture value, according to the University of Georgia’s Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development’s 2023 Farm Gate Value Report.
While livestock raising and competitions are a tradition in the county, Poulnott sets herself apart as the only student at her school to show pigs.
Outside of school, she devotes her time to caring for six pigs, balancing her academic schedule with responsibilities like cleaning and maintaining the barn and washing, walking and preparing the pigs for shows.
After graduation, Poulnott plans to pursue a degree in labor and delivery nursing, but has no intention of leaving her passion for livestock behind.
“My dad and I are actually going to breed a few pigs,” she said. “Right now, our barn is so full, we don’t have room to keep any other pigs, but since my shows will be over, we’ll have all the room.”
While she’ll soon trade her blue jeans and belt buckles for a fresh pair of scrubs, it seems Poulnott will always have one boot firmly planted in the livestock world.