08/24/2026
**Sometimes the best days are the ones you never planned. ❤️🐷**
Yesterday, Heather, Tucker, Tyce, and I headed to the Indiana State Fair. I was there to assist with some CPS awards, and the boys were along to enjoy the fair, watch some hogs, and visit with people. Triggs didn't want to go, so he stayed back with Grandpa and Grandma Miller.
Our plans were simple.
**Watch some shows. Visit with friends. Enjoy the day. Go home.**
We had **NO intentions of buying anything.**
No trailer.
No checkbook.
No plans to purchase livestock.
Just a family day at the fair.
Tucker, 9, and Tyce, 8, however, had other ideas.
While we were at the fair, the boys were having a blast looking at hogs and visiting with people. After the CPS shows, we grabbed some lunch and asked them if they wanted to watch some of the sale or walk around the fair.
They couldn't decide, so we walked through some of the animal barns to pass the time.
As the sale was getting ready to start, we asked them again.
**“What do you boys want to do?”**
Their answer:
**“We want to watch some of the sales.”**
So we headed up to the high-rise area overlooking the Swine Barn and settled in.
The auction started, and Tucker and Tyce sat in front of us watching everything. They started talking amongst themselves.
A few minutes later, they stood up and turned around.
**“Can we buy a Hampshire gilt?”**
Heather and I looked at each other.
We reminded them that we weren't planning on buying anything. We didn't have a trailer. We didn't bring the checkbook.
**“We came to watch.”**
Apparently, that wasn't the answer they wanted.
Off they went.
From our seats in the high-rise, we could watch Tucker and Tyce walking the aisles. They were on a mission. They had apparently seen a gilt earlier while walking through the barn, and now they were trying to find exactly where she was penned.
About 15 minutes later, we spotted them talking with **Buck Combs**.
And Buck was all smiles.
They visited with him for nearly 20 minutes before walking a few more aisles and coming back to us.
**“Dad, we found the perfect gilt. She has a good underline. We asked the owner if there were any ruptures in her littermates and how her momma was as a sow.”**
I couldn't help but chuckle.
Heather looked at me and said:
**“I can't believe they just walk around and talk to random people. They are so your offspring!”** 😂
As Tucker and Tyce continued asking Mom if they could buy a gilt, Heather slowly started giving in to their idea.
Then came the next question.
**“Dad, are you going to get a bidder's number?”**
“Nope. We're not planning on buying anything.”
They didn't like that answer either.
Off they went again.
From above, we watched them head toward the clerk's office.
A few minutes later, they came walking back.
**“Dad, the lady said you just need to fill this out and we can get her slip!”**
At this point, I looked at Heather.
She asked me, **“Well, what do you think? Did you look at the gilt?”**
I hadn't watched the Hampshire show. I had seen videos on Facebook earlier in the week, though, and knew it was a reputable breeder with a well-established herd.
I had also looked through the pedigree and recognized proven genetics that we had used in the past.
I told the boys that if they were serious, they needed to do their homework.
I suggested they find ** Tony Banister ** and get his opinions.
Off Tucker and Tyce went again.
From the high-rise, we watched them walk the aisles looking for Tony. They were asking people if they had seen him and trying to track him down.
A little while later, Heather noticed them over by Gibson Girl's pen.
**“They're back over by Gibson Girl's pen eating more candy.”**
Except they weren't eating candy.
They were on a cell phone.
When the call ended, they handed the phone back to **HL Gibson**, said thank you, and headed back toward Buck's gilt.
A short time later, Buck came walking up to us with the boys.
He was all smiles.
He told us that if we were interested in the gilt, he could take her back home that night and we could come get her later in the week.
We thanked him and apologized if the boys were bothering him.
Buck just chuckled.
**“They're good. They're welcome back to the pens whenever.”**
As Buck walked away, I asked the boys:
**“Who were you calling on HL Gibson's Gibson Girls phone?”**
Their answer made me smile.
**“Dad, we couldn't find Tony, so we started looking for people we had seen Tony talking to. We found someone who had his phone number, so we used HL's phone to call him.”**
That's when it really hit me.
These boys weren't just looking at pigs.
They were **doing their homework.**
They were asking questions.
They were seeking advice.
They were introducing themselves to people.
They were building relationships.
And they were doing it themselves.
Finally, I asked:
**“Okay, boys…what are you thinking?”**
Their answer:
**“We're buying a gilt today that will make a brood sow. We found her. We just need you to bid.”**
😂
So when the Hampshire sale started, I told them we could go ringside.
I told Tucker and Tyce that if I saw a gilt I thought they should bid on, I would tap them on the shoulder and they could raise their hands.
The gilt they wanted came about halfway through the sale.
She walked into the ring.
Then **Kevin Wendt** got on the microphone and described her as a foundation program female — a female with brood sow written all over her.
The boys were nervous.
The bidding started.
Finally, I tapped Tucker and Tyce on the shoulder.
Their hands went straight into the air.
But nobody noticed the two young boys trying to bid.
I tapped them again.
They raised their hands higher and made some noise trying to get ** Ryan Michael and Roy Flach attention.**
Ryan finally saw them.
**“Yep!”**
I gave Colonel Kevin Wendt a wink to accept their bid.
The bidding continued.
Another bid.
I tapped them again.
Their hands went up.
And just like that…
**THEY BOUGHT HER!**
Tucker and Tyce looked at each other, gave each other a fist bump and said:
**“We will be back.”**
And off they went to follow their new gilt back to the pen.
But apparently, one foundation female wasn't enough.
As more gilts sold, I was looking through the sale catalog and noticed there was another Combs gilt with a similar pedigree.
When the boys came back to the ring, we watched her walk in.
The bidding started.
**“Boys, bid.”**
Their hands went up.
Again, nobody was watching for two young boys trying to bid.
The auction was about to close when Tyce finally had enough.
He yelled:
**“HEY! OVER HERE!”**
The ringmen turned around.
Both of them yelled to take their bid.
The auction closed.
**SOLD!**
They had just bought a package deal.
Colonel Wendt congratulated the boys on their purchase as they headed back toward Ohio.
Tucker and Tyce were grinning from ear to ear.
**“Mom, Dad…let's go talk with Buck.”**
So we headed back to visit with Buck and make arrangements to get the gilts home.
And that's how a family went to the Indiana State Fair with **no intentions of buying anything**…
…and came home with **two foundation females, a million stories, and some new friends.**
But honestly, the gilts might not even be the best thing Tucker and Tyce brought home.
They brought home confidence.
They learned to ask questions.
They learned to seek advice.
They learned that relationships matter.
They learned that you don't have to be the biggest or oldest person in the barn to have a voice.
And they learned that sometimes, if you really want something, you have to **go find the answers yourself.**
As a dad, watching all of this unfold from the high-rise was pretty special.
At just **9 and 8 years old**, Tucker and Tyce are already learning lessons that will reach far beyond the show ring.
The livestock business has given our family so many opportunities, but days like yesterday remind me that it isn't always about the banners, the sales, or even the animals.
Sometimes it's about watching your kids become their own person.
Watching them make decisions.
Watching them build relationships.
Watching them chase a dream.
And realizing that maybe, just maybe, they're learning a little bit about why we love this business so much.
**Two foundation females. A million stories. New friendships. And two young boys who learned that sometimes the best opportunities are the ones you never planned for.**
A huge thank-you to **Buck Combs** for taking the time to visit with Tucker and Tyce, answer their questions, encourage them, and ultimately give them the opportunity to purchase these foundation females. They won't forget it.
And thank you to everyone else who took the time to talk to two young boys walking the barns yesterday.
You may have thought you were just having a conversation.
**But to Tucker and Tyce, you were helping build the foundation of something that could last a lifetime.** ❤️🐷
Yesterday wasn't just a trip to the Indiana State Fair.
**It was the beginning of another chapter.**
