Thundering Hoofbeats 4-H Club Members Participate in 4-H Equine Skill-a-thon

Three members of the Thundering Hoofbeats 4-H Club participated in the 4-H Equine Skill-a-thon held on Thursday, August 20, 2009 at Ag Progress.

The Equine Skill-a-thon, which is co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Quarter Horse Association and Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Cooperative Extension, is an annual event for 4-H members across the state to participate in. Three components make up the skill-a-thon including:

• Identification Stations, which included any topics from 4-H horse project books
• A Written Test, which was on general knowledge of horses, horsemanship, and related topics
• Horse Judging, in which contestants judged one or two classes of 4 horses according to ideal conformation standards for the class

The skill-a-thon had 3 age categories: Junior Division for ages 8-11, Intermediate Division for ages 12-14, and Senior Division for ages 15-18. Grand Champion and Reserve Winners in each age Division won $200 and $100 savings bonds. Cash awards were given to individuals’ receiving1st trough 5th place. Entries were limited to 20 participants per division.

Representing the Clearfield County 4-H Program was three first time participants from the Thundering Hoofbeats 4-H Club. The participants were Morgan Reardon, Violet Sleigh, and Sydney Turner, all of Philipsburg. Violet Sleigh placed 8th overall in the Junior Division (placing 1st in horse judging, 7th on the written test, and 10th on the identification stations). Sydney Turner placed 10th overall (placing 8th in horse judging, a 9th on the written test and 9th on the identification stations). Morgan Reardon placed 4th in horse judging and 10th on the written test.

All participants said the skill-a-thon was a great learning experience and would like to go back and take part in the program again next year!

In photo above from left to right are participants Morgan Reardon, Sydney Turner, and Violet Sleigh.