Middlebury—Two Shoreham 4-H’ers captured first place in team demonstration at the 2024 State 4-H Horse Communications Contest, June 1.

Hannah Gendreau and Shyanne Wedge, both members of the Silver Hooves 4-H Club in Shoreham, presented a demonstration, “Leg Armor for Your Equine Friend.” The contest took place at the University of Vermont (UVM) Extension office in Middlebury.

For this category, the 4-H’ers were required to do a 10 to 15 minute demonstration on an equine-related topic, using charts and visuals to present information. Points were deducted for going over or under the time allowed.

For their demonstration, Hannah and Shyanne described six different types of “leg wear” for a horse for its protection.  They showed how to put on bell boots, splint boots, polo wraps and shipping boots, among other gear, and talked about the use of each.

As winners of the team demonstration contest, the duo qualified to compete at the Eastern National 4-H Horse Round Up in Kentucky in November on the state horse communications team. However, both girls also qualified for other teams at state horse events held earlier this year and have chosen to participate on those teams instead. Shyanne will represent Vermont on the state judging team and Hannah on the state quiz bowl team in the national competition.

For more information about the Vermont 4-H horse program, contact Wendy Sorrell, UVM Extension 4-H livestock educator, at wendy.sorrell@uvm.edu.