Beauty and the Beasts
Sophomore Halle Barkley Earns 4-H Award
More stories from Leslie Germany
Sophomore Halle Barkley meets Fancy for the first time. Barkley will take this pig to the Carson County Junior Livestock Show and the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo. “I was super excited that stock show season was here,” Barkley said of that night.
Most kids were bundled up at home, but not Halle Barkley. She was hoisting hay over a snow covered fence in the midst of a blizzard last December. Ivory Elliot depended on her, and she made sure he had what he needed. He was a beast not everyone loved, but this animal and Barkley were partners.
Between church, cross country, basketball, track, tennis, and FFA, sophomore Halle Barkley made time to take care of not only Ivory Elliot, but 9 or 10 other pigs over the years in addition to completing school work and other activities. After eight years of showing animals and serving her 4-H club in many ways, she has earned this year’s 4-H Gold Star Award.
Halle Barkley receives the 4-H Gold Star award from Carson County Extension Agent Jody Bradford. Barkley has been an active 4-H member for eight years. “4-H gives me an excuse to give my pigs goofy names and love on animals that most people turn their noses at,” Barkley said.
“4-H takes time outside of school that you have to find time to do projects,” mother Kathleen Barkley said. “But, it is such a great opportunity to learn and meet other people.”
Earning this award has not been easy, Barkley has put in countless hours along with a large amount of work.
“I’ve attended meetings, gone to workshops, put on workshops, done projects, competed in competitions,” sophomore Halle Barkley said. “Most importantly, I had to do a a record book with the list of projects that I kept records on and then turned it in to be judged.”
After all her work, Barkley had to apply, was interviewed, then was selected.
“It’s a reflection of her time, dedication, and effort spent in 4-H,” Kamy Whatley said.
Then Barkley said her investments finally started to pay dividends.
“I was pretty excited to win this because of all the work I put into it,” sophomore Halle Barkley said. “It all finally paid off.”
Barkley has worked for her entire 4-H career toward this award.
“In all honesty, anybody who gets this award had worked since the beginning of their 4-H career to get it,” Barkley said. “I really buckled down on it this last summer.”
4-H has always been a priority in Halle’s family, she’s grown up around it.
“I used to watch my brothers with their pigs before I could do 4-H, and I would count down the days until I could be in it,” Barkley said.
Barkley has two pigs this year named Strawberry and Fancy. She will be showing Fancy at Ft. Worth and the Carson County Stock Show. She will also be showing Strawberry at either San Antonio or Houston as well as the Carson County Stock Show.
“4-H gives me an excuse to give my pigs goofy names,” Barkley said, “and love on animals that most people turn their noses at.”
Sophomore Halle Barkley poses with her pig, Strawberry. Barkley will take this pig to the Carson County Junior Livestock Show, as well as the San Antonio or Houston show. “I was super excited that stock show season was here,” Barkley said.
