NJSA would like to congratulate Justin Sands, 11, of Mt. Pleasant Mills, Pennsylvania as a youth spotlight.  Justin has one brother, Colton, and lives with his parents who both grew up on farms.  He is currently in 6th grade at Middleburg Middle School where he is a straight A student.  He also plays baseball and football in school, and out of school he stays busy showing pigs and cattle, and then competing on a rodeo circuit.

Justin has been showing pigs for three years, but has been an NJSA member for four years, competing in contests before showing.  His joining of NJSA was because of his Uncle Brian who raises showpigs and pushed Justin’s involvement in the circuit.  His first show was the Eastern Regional in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  Since his start, he has included a few more NJSA shows including Southeast Regional, and National Junior Summer Spectacular.  What Justin enjoys most about showing pigs is “working with the animals, it’s something I’ve always loved,” along with getting to meet people from all over the country, and just the fun time at the shows.

His favorite NJSA show proves to be NJSS because of all of the contests that are available to compete in.  Outside of NJSA, Brandon enjoys attending the different Rodeo events because of all of the work and time he puts in at home.  The Skillathon stands as his favorite contest because it levels the playing field a bit because it’s based on knowledge, not your ability to show or how good your hogs look that day.

When asked, Justin has had two important moments that have stuck out to him since being in NJSA.  One was walking into the ring at Southeast Regional and the judge immediately putting him in the 1st place pen, and then when the judge called them all back out, he put him right back into the first place slot.  It was Justin’s first win, and a strong one at that.  His second moment would have to be getting the tie breaker question right at this year’s judging contest at NJSS.  The question was to guess the age of a gilt in the pen, and while he didn’t need to answer the tie breaker question, he still answered it correctly.

Justin would like other members of NJSA to know that it is a really fun organization and to stick with it as it will lead you to good things.  Of the four NSR breeds, Justin had two favorites, but one stronger than the other.  He says he like the color of the Hampshires, but for the look and performance, he likes the Yorkshires for their build and type.

In the future, Justin would like to play football or be a roper as well as own a ranch which will allow him to do the things he enjoys most.  As a word of parting, Justin would like to thank his uncle Brian for everything he has done for him.

The NJSA would like to congratulate Brandon on being such an outstanding role model and NSJA member, and wish him the best of luck at all of his future endeavors and shows!