To catch a pig at the county fair

WiscNews.com : Baraboo News Republic.

They’re greasy, fast and full of mud. The swine in the Sauk County Fair’s Catch A Pig competition aren’t easy to get a hold of. But that’s what makes the annual event so much fun. "We caught it but we couldn’t pick it up," said 15-year-old Erin Sorge of Baraboo about her team’s disappointing 2008 performance. But Sorge and two of her friends, who make up the team Tanner’s Angels, will have a chance to redeem themselves Wednesday evening at the Sauk County Fairgrounds in Baraboo. The fair starts Tuesday and runs through Sunday afternoon. Catch A Pig contestants have 45 seconds to catch a pig in a mud-filled ring and hoist it onto a table. Teams are encouraged to dress in costume. The pig’s ears, snout and tail are off limits, and no roughhousing of the pig is allowed. Sorge said her team’s game plan last year was to get one set of hands on the pig’s hind legs first, followed by its mid-section and front legs. "Someone told us you need to grab the back legs as soon as possible so they don’t get all full of mud," Sorge said. "If they get muddy, it’s impossible because that mud is like soup." Wednesday night will be the first time Jessica Good of Reedsburg has wrestled with an oinker. Same goes for her teammates, so they’re putting their heads together early. "We’re getting together for a strategy session (today), because none of us have ever tried to catch a pig before," Good said, adding that her team is hoping to get some advice from a farming friend. "I think it’s going to be quite a challenge, especially in only 45 seconds and lots of mud." But successfully catching the pig might have less to do with strategy and more with the pig’s energy level, said Scott Zirzow, vice president of the Sauk County Agricultural Society, which organizes the fair. "I think sometimes people get lucky because the pig doesn’t run as much for them," he said. Zirzow said there’s plenty more to be excited about this year’s fair, including the usual grandstand events that include the Run What Ya Brung ATV Races. "That’s become pretty popular because the younger kids can do it," Zirzow said. This year’s headlining music act is country singer Craig Morgan, whose radio hits include "Almost Home," "Redneck Yacht Club" and "That’s What I Love About Sunday." Agricultural Society President George Koepp said organizers have put a lot of time into sprucing up the fairgrounds this year, and 4H kids have been instrumental in raising money to make some of those changes happen. As far as the pig-catching contest, Koepp said he doesn’t feel the need to participate, because he’s caught plenty of pigs as a farmer. "This is for fun," he said with a chuckle. "I’ve had my fun already."