Castleton--The Northeast Regional 4-H Horse Contest, Oct. 16, attracted competitors from several states, including 19 from Vermont.

The event took place at two Castleton locations, Castleton University and Pond Hill Stables, (horse judging) and included quiz bowl, judging and hippology contests. This is the first time that Vermont has hosted the contests, which also saw competitors from Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island this year.

The annual competition was open to 4-H members from the New England states, New York and New Jersey. It is designed to help them prepare for the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup in Louisville, Kentucky, in November.

Vermont participated in quiz bowl, hippology and judging, with an A and a B team in the latter two events. The A Team in each event was comprised of those 4-H'ers who earned a spot on a state team that will compete at this year's Roundup in Kentucky. The B Teams included individuals who excelled at various 4-H horse events this past year but who were not selected for a state team.

In quiz bowl, Vermont outscored the Rhode Island team to capture first place. For individual scores, Chloe Barewicz, Jericho, placed second; Shyanne Wedge, Shoreham, third; Tieghan Perry, Danville, fifth; and Amie Thurston, West Rutland, seventh.

Vermont swept first and second place in teams judging with the A Team beating the B Team. Massachusetts came in third. This competition required the 4-H'ers to judge several classes of horses, providing both placements for each class and reasons for those rankings.

Chester 4-H'er Jenna Dolloph, a member of the A Team, took first place overall for individual scores. She also came in first for reasons and second for classes. Her teammates all also placed in the top 10 overall with Jasmine Akley, Vernon, third (fourth in classes, fifth in reasons); Madison Markwell, Greenfield, Massachusetts, fifth (sixth in reasons) and Britney Zager, Gill, Massachusetts, eighth (sixth in classes).

Representing Vermont on the Judging B Team, Sara DiStasio, Londonderry, had the second highest individual score (third in both classes and reasons). Rylie Mitchell, Northfield, Massachusetts, was third high individual scorer (first in classes), and Emma Sibley, Milton, was seventh highest scorer (seventh in classes and reasons). The fourth team member was Isabella Kang, also of Milton, who came in fifth in classes.

The hippology contest included several phases: identification stations, judging, team problem solving and a written exam with slides. The A Team finished second behind New York with a first-place finish in team problem solving, second in the stations and judging phases and third in written exam.

Ella Dubin, Northfield, Massachusetts, was third highest overall scorer and Alessandra Hoffman, Milton, was sixth. Ella also placed second overall in the exam, third in stations and seventh in judging. Alessandra was first in judging and eighth overall in the written exam. Other team members were Megan Carson, South Londonderry (seventh in stations), and Rose Ouimet, Castleton (fourth in judging).

The B Team placed fifth overall with a second-place finish in team problem solving and fifth in both judging and stations. Maddie DiStasio, Londonderry, was second high overall scorer, capturing first in stations, fifth in the written exam and sixth in judging. Her teammates were Nora McTeigue, Bondville, andRenee Payton, Danville. A fourth team member, Autumn Dailey, East Hardwick, was unable to compete due to illness.

For information about the University of Vermont Extension 4-H horse program, contact Wendy Sorrell at wendy.sorrell@uvm.edu.