Man, those swine can fly!

He found his calling calling pig races Vernon — During the week, Walt Gardner is an information technology professional in the Sussex Wantage School District. But when the weekend arrives, he travels to Heaven Hill Farm for his unique side job. Gardner, of Vernon, is the pig race announcer there and he credits his friends for convincing him to take the job. After seeing a newspaper ad, they believed he would be the perfect candidate because of his comedic experience. He performs comedy at open mic nights and entertains at weddings. Heaven Hill’s public relations director Phyllis Emmerich says they received a big response to their ad. Many people had acting experience or did voice-overs but no one seemed to have the spirit they were seeking until they met Gardner. His comedic talent and cheerful personality made him the perfect pig race caller. Off to the races A set of four different pigs run Heaven Hill’s Pigtucky Derby. Gardner has names for all of them and the names change with each race. Some, like Harry Hogwarts and Optimus Swine, are cheeky references to movie characters while others are celebrities like Jerry Swinefeld and Taylor Ham Swift. As soon as Gardner enters the race area, the pigs are overwhelmed with excitement and nearly jump into the race gates. They are baited with homemade apple cider donuts and these small pigs run surprisingly fast around the hay-covered track. Prior to the race, Gardner selects someone from the crowd to be the personal cheerleader for each pig. The cheerleader whose pig wins gets a candy prize. Gardner also entertains the crowd with pig related jokes and trivia. He’s only been announcing since early October, but plans to make this a regular seasonal side-job, Gardner says. The races put a smile on everyone’s face. The porks, er — make that perks — of the job for him are found in the excitement of the crowd. The pig races are part of Heaven Hill’s Pumpkinland Festival and start at noon every weekend, continuing at the top of each hour through Nov. 1.