Posted: January 3, 2024
A Pennsylvania 4-H horse judging team from Lebanon County — Rachel Bohr, Madeline Ingraham and Ciera Wolff — participated in the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup, held recently at the Kentucky Fair and Expo Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
Rachel Bohr, Ciera Wolff, and Madeline Ingraham
During the event, 4-H members can compete in several contests, including public speaking, presentations, hippology, horse bowl, and horse judging.
Kirsten Dubbs, Penn State Extension 4-H animal science specialist, explained that horse judging involves evaluating and ranking classes of horses, providing oral justifications for the rankings.
"Participating in animal science knowledge contests teaches youth about their 4-H animal science projects and increases their knowledge level about those projects," Dubbs said. "In addition, these contests provide opportunities to learn and practice a host of other life skills, such as decision-making, teamwork, evaluating on the fly, memorization, and recall."
The Pennsylvania Livestock Association provides financial support to 4-H teams traveling for these types of contests. The Pennsylvania 4-H Horse Program development committee also helps sponsor teams traveling and registering for horse-related contests.
Administered in Pennsylvania by Penn State Extension, 4-H is a nonformal educational youth-development program of the United States Department of Agriculture that helps young people develop knowledge and skills to become capable, caring, and contributing citizens. To find your local program, visit the Pennsylvania 4-H website.
