Lucky Penny Sells for $17,000 in OYE Night of Stars Gilt Sale
The crowd roared when Caroline Gaye walked into the Night of Stars Gilt Sale at the Oklahoma Youth Expo (OYE) with her Duroc gilt, Penny. Penny is just not some pig – nor is Caroline Gaye just another 16-year-old showman. This power team proved you don’t have to spend the most to win big at one of the biggest pig shows in the U.S.
With a lot of hard work and a lot of love, Gaye and her family at the Tipton Children’s Home in southwest Oklahoma, drove Penny the Duroc to a third-place overall finish in the Duroc Show at the 2022 OYE Purebred Gilt Show, earning her the 46th slot in the sale where the top 2% of gilts exhibited are sold to swine breeders across the country.
The Tipton Children's Home provides kids with the opportunity to have a safe and secure home. Kids are placed at the home by their parents or grandparents or other situations such as foster care. Coming to the Tipton Children’s Home was an opportunity for Gaye to find her niche within her local FFA chapter and the swine barn.
When the kids come into Tipton Children’s Home, Tony Chitwood, who oversees the animal program, often starts them on chickens. They also have some dairy heifers and, of course, pigs.
The work ethic kids gain from raising and caring for livestock is an important part of the experience at Tipton Children’s Home, says Tim White, Tipton FFA ag teacher.
“I mean, you're up two or three times a day feeding animals, watering, walking and all the responsibilities that go along with that. It's just a natural tool to raising children,” White says.
Wins Along the Way
After watching some of the older kids in her town have such a great experience showing pigs, Gaye wanted to see if it would work for her, she says.
“I saw them showing and how happy and responsible it made them. I just wanted to take that on, because I want to show I can be responsible and I can be happy the same way they are,” Gaye says.
Her determination and work ethic have paid off.
Gaye gets up at 6:30 a.m. every day and the first thing she does is go to the barn and check on her pigs and other animals. After a long day at school, the first thing she does when she gets home is head back to the barn.
“She will outwork you in the show ring and in the barn,” White says. “Caroline's a real special person.”
White says she’s grown quite a bit in just the past few months. For example, Gaye showed Penny at the district show, but was “not near as effective.” So, she went home and started working harder.
“We've seen the fruits a couple of days ago, as we went into the ring,” White says.
But wins in the show ring aren’t really the point. This program has created so many wins in so many kids’ lives that extend far beyond a livestock show.
“There's a lot of wins all along the way,” White says. “I think it's great for Caroline to see that growth in herself and that confidence she's gained by being able to see the next step, whether that's the sale or whatnot.”
She believed that she could reach her goal to make it into the sale because of the people in her life who have supported her along the way, she says.
“I just want to make them proud. That's just what drives me. My show family pushing me and the others who show, that's what keeps me going,” Gaye says.
“Penny responded well with every kid at the Tipton Children’s Home,” Tipton FFA ag teacher Tim White says. “They all walked her, they all showed her because she was their favorite.”
A Family for Life
There’s no question what makes this program work is the emphasis on teamwork and collaboration. White says being a part of this bigger “show family” through Tipton FFA allows the kids from the Tipton Children’s Home to see the parenting that goes on around them.
“They see this camaraderie, this family unit, and they have that out of the home and with the show team as everybody pitches in together to help these kids. It's very important,” White says.
Gaye describes her show family as a big community.
“Everyone's always supportive of everyone. Everyone loves everyone. It's just a big family group. I love them so much,” she says. “They help me with everything and anything that I need. And in the same way, I help them with everything that they need.”
Whites adds that a lot of people have contributed to Gaye’s success – from their feed dealer to showpig breeders to Chitwood at the children’s home. The list goes on and on of people donating time, energy and money to see these kids succeed.
But Gaye points out she couldn’t have done any of this without White’s encouragement and expertise.
“He’s always pushing us to do our best,” Gaye says. “Some days we don't feel like doing it, but he just reminds us we got to get up and keep going.”
If Gaye could offer one piece of advice to other show kids, it would be to put in the work.
“You might be tired, it might be exhausting, but you just need to keep pushing and keep working because working can get you so far. That's the lesson that I learned – to just keep pushing and keep working,” she says.
Barn Chatter
There was a lot of chatter in the barn about Gaye’s Duroc gilt – not only was she a great gilt, but she was also purchased for less than $500, a conservative price for the caliber of quality breeding gilts shown at OYE.
“We're real fortunate to have breeders across the country that are willing to send down at $300 pig, add shipping of $179, to get us under $500 total,” White says. “I mean, that's awesome. We need to see more of that in this industry that’s so top-heavy. Every kid deserves the same responsibility, skills that this kid learned. Instead of narrower at the top, we need to be larger at the top, every kid needs it.”
For Gaye, all of the nerves were worth it to finally catch that pen and make it into the sale.
“[The Night of Stars Gilt Sale] is a really good opportunity, and it’s a big opportunity just to make it and show here at OYE.” Gaye said. “To me, it shows that I can do it, even if I don’t do it again next year.”
The bidding started at $5,000 when Gaye walked Penny into the ring, and it quickly went to $15,000 in a hurry before landing at $17,000.
“I'm just hoping she goes to a good place and gets to breed and have little Pennies like her,” Gaye says.
The Oklahoma Youth Expo, a 501c3 non-profit, is the ‘World’s Largest Junior Livestock Show’ where more than 7,500 Oklahoma 4-H and FFA students, from all of Oklahoma’s 77 counties, exhibit their cattle, sheep, goats, swine and mechanics projects. OYE has a $25 million economic impact on Oklahoma City and awards nearly $2 million in scholarships and prize money to the top exhibitors.
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