For most of his life, farming has been a specialty for Les Garrett.

“I was always a farmer,” the 82-year-old Montgomery County resident said. “I was raised that way.”

Garrett has 48 hogs on his farm. On Aug. 5, he got to bring half of them for the Greased Pig contest at the Old Settlers Picnic so he could see people of all ages get muddy by chasing hogs in a mud pit.

“I just brought the pigs up here so they could have a good time,” Garrett said.

Participants also win money by catching a hog. One of the participants, Jacquelyn Hans, won $10.

“It’s amazing,” Jacquelyn said. “I really love mud.”

Heath Gotsch, who will be an eighth-grade student from Montgomery County Middle School this fall, won $5 for catching a hog. He said he never touched a pig before.

“It’s like throwing a football,” the 13-year-old said. “You don’t throw it to where they are at. You throw it where they are going.”

Reaghan Hemeyer, who will be a freshman at Montgomery County High School, said during the contest, all of the participants have to crawl to catch the pig, which is not easy.

“It scrapes my knees and makes it kind of burn,” Reaghan said. “But I just have to push through the pain.”

Reaghan said there’s a strategy in catching a hog.

“At first, you have to pin him to the wall,” she said. “Then, if you get him pinned to the wall, grab his front leg and his back leg.”

After the contest, most of the participants got a nice shower, including Reaghan.

“It feels like needles,” Reaghan said. “But as long as it gets the mud off, it’s fine.”

Vivian Hadden, who will be a seventh-grade student at MCMS this year, was part of a trio of participants who tried to catch a hog. She said she was excited about competing in the contest.

“I did it only one year before this,” Vivian said. “I love doing it. I like running around the mud and having fun with my friends trying to catch pigs.”