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High on the hog Jazmine Clevenger, 12, left, Makena Clevenger, 14, and Hunter Clevenger, 10, share some love with Moose at their farm in Central Point Wednesday . [Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch] Monday Jan 15, 2018 at 12:01 AM Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Even though she competed at the Arizona Grand National Livestock Show “for the experience,” 14-year-old Makena Clevenger was plenty excited to take home a champion ribbon. One of several local 4-H families to trek to Phoenix for the massive show, open to ages 8 through 22, Makena has been showing pigs for the past six years. The families collaborated on the trip and ventured out with a menagerie of hogs worthy of the show ring the final week in December. Makena was joined by her two siblings, 12-year-old Jazmin and 9-year-old Hunter of the Rogue Cattle Company 4-H Club. All three homeschoolers have shown in 4-H since they were old enough, and Makena will foray into Future Farmers of America with Crater High this year. While Makena's Hereford Barrow, named Chunky Monkey, was selected as reserve champion, she said simply competing in a national-level show was exciting for her. Makena traveled with three hogs, compared to her sister’s four and her brother’s one. “It was a privilege to win the reserve champion, especially because I was not expecting to win anything at all. I was mainly going for the experience to just get on top of everything and get a feel for the national-level shows. I thought, ‘If I win anything, that would kind of be an extra bonus,’ ” said the teen. “It was such an amazing experience. My favorite part was making new friends and meeting different people from all over the country who are interested in the same thing I am.” Makena’s mother, Melissa Clevenger, said the show was a great family experience and an eye-opener for the kids. “This was a big-boy show," said Melissa Clevenger. "My daughter is a small-town girl from Central Point, and then here she goes and wins the reserve champion for Hereford Market Barrow. It was a big moment for her to do so well at this national-level show.” Majestic Swine 4-H members also attended the show, including 12-year-old Katie Rowley, 15-year-old Natalie Juarez and 18-year-old Jordan Reed, all of whom showed Hereford hogs in their respective age levels. A member of the Rogue Cattle Club, 14-year-old Katie Howell, traveled with her family for the Phoenix show, entering three different hogs, including a purebred Yorkshire breeding gilt. Melissa Weast, a breeder and owner of Wild Weast Show Pigs and Hereford Hogs in Central Point, said the show was a great experience for the local 4-H kids, but she was impressed with how they compared alongside kids from bigger areas and larger clubs. Weast traveled with the trio of kids from Majestic Swine. Weast said her group traveled with nearly a dozen animals, primarily Hereford stock. “To be able to see something so big. The Jackson County show is 300 hogs, and that’s already a lot of hogs. We were expecting 700 to 800, and they ended up pinning 1,300 hogs at this show. Being from Jackson County, we have the biggest fair in Oregon and one of the most competitive,” Weast said. “This sure gave you a real appreciation and really showed us breeders to really strive to breed these perfectly structured animals. It was like having a sweet tooth and walking into a candy store. Every breed of hog you could think of was there, and they were all just beautiful.” Another Crater FFA student, 14-year-old Braydon Ray, took three hogs to the national show — one each of Yorkshire, Poland and Chester breeds. The freshman is a member of the two-year-old Supreme Swine 4-H Club. To learn more about the Arizona National Livestock Show, see http://www.anls.org/ — Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. Email her at [email protected].