Sheep can jump.

That one thought scared Jenna Waters when she was a little girl learning to work with animals at a Crawfordsville farm.

“I was petrified of the sheep,” Waters, the president of the Highland FFA chapter, says now, laughing. "I was so scared of them. They run at you and they can jump over you. And you would never think a sheep could do that. But, yeah, they can jump over you.”

And that’s why Waters, a senior at Highland High School who is planning to study animal science at Iowa State University beginning in fall 2023, shows pigs every year at the Washington County and Iowa State Fairs.

“I used to be so scared of the sheep, so, fine, I’ll just do a 300-pound pig instead,” she says. “Apparently they didn’t scare me as much.”

“She was scared of them,” said Jenna’s twin sister, Katelyn. “She thought pigs were a better fit for her.”

Jenna and Katelyn, both seniors and both Highland FFA officers, turned to showing animals and the 4-H life at an early age. They followed Bryce, their older brother, who showed pigs and sheep.

“We loved the animals, so we both just kind of took after that,” Jenna Waters said.

An early introduction to animals at a farm located just a few miles south of their home in Ainsworth led to years of showing them at the Washington County Fair and then the Iowa State Fair, where both have shown animals during their high school years.

“It’s like another thing that not a lot of people get to do,” Jenna Waters said. “So we’re just very lucky to kind of have that other source of something. It’s just really fun to kind of create connections, in a way, with the animals. They’re just like little pets.”

Leading up to the competition, Jenna said she may spend up to four hours every day with the animals.

Jenna, who is also president of Highland’s Student Council and National Honor Society chapter, won a Reserve Grand Champion prize in 2020 at the county fair.

The family’s trips to the state fair have become a week-long tradition. They head to Des Moines early in the morning, a couple of days before the fair actually opens to the public because that’s when the 4-H showing competition is held. And once the competition is done, they bring the animals back home and head to the fair for other activities.

While Jenna’s showing of pigs at the fairs began in the fourth grade, when it is first allowed for youth, her involvement in the Highland FFA has come during years when the school’s FFA chapter has rapidly grown since cranking up in 2017. The chapter is up to 43 members this year with members attending state and national conventions. Gina Trower, an agriculture teacher at the high school and middle school, is the chapter’s advisor.

“We have a pretty big chapter,” Jenna Waters said, “so we’re really proud of the membership that we’ve been able to gain. Our school is in a pretty rural area, so a lot of kids are very interested in that. It’s just a good opportunity for them.”

“It’s awesome to see our chapter grow and I’ve been a part of it for most of the years since it started,” Katelyn Waters said.

The chapter continues to build with a strong membership in the middle school.

“As a seventh grader, you can take an ag class. Just kind of like, intro to learn about what FFA is and just kind of what agriculture is,” Waters said. “I think that’s been a big help in getting more of our younger members and just members in general.”

Combining high school and middle school students has created a strong connection, Waters said.

“They all look up to us and stuff,” she said. “It’s just kind of cool to be able to oversee the whole chapter and then see those kids that look up to you.”

Serving as an officer for the Highland chapter has also resulted in trips to the annual FFA Convention at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, home of the NFL Indianapolis Colts.

“It’s just packed,” Waters said of the environment in Indy. “When we go for our sessions and stuff, it’s just crazy. It’s just like a sea of (FFA) blue jackets.”

As Waters begins planning her transition toward college, the path will also mean an end to FFA participation. Membership ends at age 21 because the Future in Future Farmers of America no longer applies.

Once she graduates from college, she hopes to return to Southeast Iowa and become an animal biotechnologist.