Swifty Swine, a popular event at the Alabama National Fair, is participating in the downtown expo for the first time
A word to all the wild boar hunters coming to downtown Montgomery for the annual Buckmasters Expo: Don’t shoot the hogs!
More than a dozen boar-worthy stars will be here at the Montgomery Convention Center on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, August 16-18 – little piggies with names like Kim Kardashingham, Snoop Hogg and, of course, Kevin Bacon.
“Pig racing is the most American thing you can do,” said Jared Hollenbeck, who has been bringing Swifty Swine to Montgomery and now to Buckmasters as part of the Alabama National Fair since 2018.
This is not nonsense.
“We’ve secured another cool event in Montgomery,” said Hollenbeck. “It’s pretty cool to be able to visit it twice a year.”
Swifty Swine will take Dock Dogs’ place in 2024.
More: 30 years later, the Buckmasters Expo continues to inspire hunters and families
When he was looking for a successor, Buckmasters founder Jackie Bushman said he was good friends with Alabama National Fair general manager Randy Stephenson. Bush asked Stephenson what the most popular act at the fair was, and Stephenson told him, “It’s not even close. It’s the racing pigs, the Swifty Swine.”
They may not have wings, but these little pigs can fly
Hollenbeck is the “right-hand man” of Swifty Swine owner Zach Johnson of Van, Texas. Johnson said he and his wife have been racing pigs for 26 years.
For those who have never seen the pigs in action, Johnson describes Swifty Swine as “NAScar on hooves.” Four small pigs (usually miniature potbellies or kunekunes) race about 50 yards around the arena at Pork Chop International Speedway, competing for an Oreo cookie.
“We give them funny names and select cheerleaders from the audience to cheer the pigs on,” said Hollenbeck. “We give prizes to the winning cheerleaders and the winning pigs.”
More: Tuned in: The Buckmasters Expo already makes us think about August
Hollenbeck said it was an entertaining show with lots of music, and that children and adults alike enjoyed watching the action – which didn’t just take place on the racetrack.
“We have three races in the show and we also have a swimming pig, which is kind of a short piece that we do between races,” Hollenbeck said.
Is Johnson nervous about his Swifty Swine being around a group of hunters? Not really, but he can imagine what goes through the hunters’ minds during the race.
“There are a couple of guys and a couple of pigs that look like sausages and bacon running around the track,” Johnson said.
Hollenbeck is also not worried about the hunters and even thinks that this could be good hunting practice for them.
“They’re welcome to aim their hand over a scope and see if they can track our hogs, because ours are really fast,” Hollenbeck said. “If they can track them on the trail, they should be able to keep a good eye out for wild hogs out in the woods.”
More: Activities around Montgomery from August 15 to 21
After the Buckmasters Expo, the Swifty Swine returns to the Alabama National Fair in Montgomery from October 4-14.
“We will definitely be there. We are something of a fixture there,” said Hollenbeck.
Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel covers activities in the River Region. Contact him at [email protected]
