Pig wrestling is returning to the Park County Fair this year after not being a part of the festivities in 2022.

The event, which includes dozens of teams of various age groups, involves them competing to see who can wrestle a pig, running around in a ring full of mud, into a barrel in the least amount of time.

The popular event was canceled last year after the longtime stock contractor who was providing the pigs and supplies for the event, Double D Livestock in Greybull, could no longer acquire pigs for a profitable price.

Since then, Events Coordinator Billy Wood has been able to find a new stock contractor out of Wheatland, who is providing 45 pigs for this year’s event. The same contractor stepped up to offer pigs for the Worland fair last year after the Washakie County Fair too was left in the lurch when the Greybull company couldn’t acquire pigs.

The only problem, Wood said, is this contractor, unlike the previous one, is just providing the pigs, not the other equipment such as the pen the old contractor had provided. So a new pen is being constructed to be used for the pigs going forward, although the added cost has meant that this year the pig wrestling will be, like the other grandstand events, a paid spectator event.

While it’s always been a popular event and has filled much of the bleachers with people attending for free, Wood said only a handful of tickets had been purchased through the first week of July.

“Most people buy tickets at the last second though,” he said.

When last held in 2021 the event cost just over $3,000, this year it’ll cost roughly three times as much, with a third of that added cost going to build the pig pen.

Wood said there was a possibility they could rent out the pig pen to other fairs in the future to cut down on the added expense of the event.

“I’d have to have board approval for that, but it might be an easy way to make some money back,” he said.

Regardless, pig wrestling is back, and with a couple of weeks still to register there were already a number of teams lined up, especially in the younger age groups.

Pig wrestling is back as normal on the first day of the fair, Tuesday, July 25, with gates opening at 6 p.m. The event is $5 to attend (attendance to the fair itself is still free all day Tuesday).

To purchase tickets to the muddy, squealing show, visit parkcountyeventsandfair.com.