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Horse project team grabs a place at nationals
Submitted photo courtesy of Richard Voets - Jamie Voets, Kristyn Harris, Katrina Gorski and Ashlyn Milam of the Lone Star 4H team of Collin County will be representing Texas at the national contest in Denver, Colo.
By Kim Williams, kwilliams@acnpapers.com
Participants from the Lone Star 4-H team of Collin County competed in a statewide event Aug. 28. Four members of the Lone Star team placed first in the 2010 State Hippology contest held at Scurry Rosser High School in Kaufman.
“Seventy-five youth participated in the contest, which constituted a written test, slide show test, 10 identification stations, two judging classes – one halter and one horsemanship – and the teams got to do a teams question,” said Carrie Sharp, Texas AgriLife Extension Agent for 4-H and Youth Development. “Forty-four adults participated in the leader training ‘Trauma in the Arena’ with the Kaufman County Emergency Outreach Technicians.”
"Hippology" is the study of the horse. The word is derived from the Greek word hippos meaning horse and logos meaning study. Participants’ equine knowledge is tested in four phases: horse judging, written examination and slide identification, identification stations and team problem-solving.
“Our Hippologers have been practicing for an entire year for this competition,” said Richard Voets, project leader for the Lone Star team. “They have very broad horse knowledge and skills, which helped them this past weekend. We did very well. I know the kids have learned that if you set your goals and put in the effort, you get a payback.”
Voets’ group made its footprint in the competition.
“Our two senior teams placed first and fourth; in addition, our junior team placed fifth in the state,” Voets said. “There were also a number of individuals who were recognized. Caitlin Dunsmore, Katrina Gorski and Kayla Milam placed in the top 10 as individuals and Kristyn Harris placed first.”
The four members who placed first at the hippology event are now qualified to participate at the national contest in Denver, Colo. in January.
This year at the event there was a 4-H Horse Leader training session on trauma in the arena.
“The local EMT group hosted this training for any leaders and parents,” Voets said. “They reviewed different types of accidents and what to do until emergency care arrived.”
Dorothy Smith, co-leader of the Lone Star team, accompanied the 4-H members at the contest.
“We are a Horse Project Club and have close to 100 kids from Collin County,” Smith said. “During the past year both our junior and senior teams placed first at the district Horse Quiz Bowl contest, and our senior team placed seventh at Spring Roundup at A&M.”
The group stays involved in community projects throughout the year.
“In the past we have put on horse shows with the proceeds going to help horse rescue groups,” Smith said. “We have adopted Mane Gait, a therapeutic riding facility, as one of our community services.”
On Oct. 7, the team will have a “Saddle Up for St. Jude” trail ride to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. This event is open to the public.
“We have also put on Play-Days [small mock rodeos] and collected can goods as entry fees, with the can goods benefiting the Collin County Food Bank,” Smith said. “We try to provide opportunities to all the kids, regardless of their horse interest and whether or not they own a horse. The membership in this organization is free and open to everyone ages 9 through 18.”
Kristyn Harris, 16, president of the 4-H club, got involved in the group because of her love of horses.
“It is a great program to learn, have fun doing it, meet other horse lovers and develop leadership skills,” Harris said. “This contest required lots of hard work studying everything we could possibly cram into our brains about horses, and we also had to practice speaking skills for the team question.”
She enjoyed the friendly competition among the fellow horse lovers.
“I have put many things I’ve learned to practical use with my horses, and I think this is one of the best ways to prepare myself for a career in the horse industry,” Harris said. “Our coaches, Rich Voets and Dorothy Smith, have dedicated so much time to helping us, and their hard work has paid off. I would not trade my experiences in 4-H for anything. Our team will continue to study hard to prepare for the National Hippology Competition in Denver coming up in January 2011.”
That contest, the Western National Competition, will be held Jan. 5-9, but the team has another competition before then.
“Our next competition is Horse Bowl on Nov. 20. Our Horse Bowl competition tests the 4H-ers on their textbook knowledge of the horse,” Voets said. “Teams of four are presented with both individual questions as well as toss-up questions and must buzz in to answer.”
For information about the Lone Star 4H team of Collin County, visit lonestar4h.com or call 972-924-3802. For information about the Western National Competition, visit westernnationalroundup.org.
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