Emma Poole Wins Third Overall at the World Pork Expo
By: Peyton Gay
17-year-old Emma Poole has traveled around the country showing her pig, Baby Glo. Recently she placed third at the World Pork Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana. This competition features competitors from all around the world with the best pigs from around the world. A few thousand pigs compete, and Poole placed third in the Crossbred Gilts category.
When asked why she choose to start showing pigs, Poole admits that she simply “just wanted a pig.” Choosing to start showing the pig seemed like a better reason for having one in the end. She now has 13 pigs so her wish of having a pig definitely came true.
Poole has been showing pigs for about six years. She is a member of the Marianna High School FFA, and she competes in the Florida Junior Swine Circuit a majority of the year. There are two series of competitions, a Summer Series and a Winter Series. Each series has between six and eight shows where participants can earn points toward their series total. At the end of each series, a banquet is hosted to award participants for their accomplishments.
Poole has been raising her current show pig, Baby Glo, since November 2024 and today she is about 300 pounds. The NJSA National Junior Summer Spectacular in Louisville, Kentucky will be Baby Glo’s last competition.
Poole and her family recently opened the Blue-Collar Feed Store on Jefferson Street in Marianna. During their time showing pigs, they learned that it can be very difficult to obtain quality feed for the animals. After dedicating time driving to Jacksonville to pick up feed, they decided to open their own store here. The family hopes that by having a store here in town the popularity of showing animals will increase. It can be very expensive for families that are interested but hopefully having a place to buy feed locally can help alleviate some of the costs involved. They also hope to increase the number of shows locally because most of the bigger shows require a five-to-six-hour drive to South Florida.
Poole and her family will leave Saturday for Louisville to once again put Baby Glo on the big stage. We will update our readers on Baby Glo’s showing in next week’s edition of the TIMES.