Burlington--Vermont 4-H’ers outshone their competitors at the 2023 Northeast Regional 4-H Horse Contests, October 15.

4-H horse members, ages 13-18, from the New England states, New York and New Jersey were invited to participate. A total of 33 4-H’ers took part in the annual event, which included horse judging, hippology, quiz bowl and communications contests.

University of Vermont (UVM) Extension 4-H hosted the regional contests this year. In addition to providing an opportunity for 4-H’ers from different states to meet, the contests serve as practice for the 4-H'ers who will be competing at the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup in Louisville, Kentucky, in November.

Tuff Terrain Farm, Clarendon, was the venue for the judging contest and judging phase of the hippology contest. The other phases of hippology (team problem solving, identification stations and written exam) were held at Castleton University in Castleton along with the quiz bowl and communications contests.

In quiz bowl, Vermont fielded two teams. The 4-H'ers who will compete at the 4-H Horse Roundup made up the A Team. The B Team consisted of the members who finished next in line after the A Team was selected.

The Vermont A Team placed second overall with the Vermont B Team coming in fourth. Britney Zager, Gill, Massachusetts (A Team), was second high overall scorer with two B Team members also finishing in the Top 10. Mikayla Tobey, Fairfax, was fifth and Lucy Badillo, Rutland, sixth.

Other A Team participants were Jasmine Akley and Elizabeth Brown, both from Vernon, and Lillian Kascha-Hare, Milton. Their coach was Sue Ouimet, Castleton. Sara DiStasio, Londonderry, and Charlotte Thompson, Castleton, were the other members of the B Team, which was coached by Jessie Bachmann-Lertola, Ira.

In horse judging, Vermont captured second place overall with a first-place finish in classes and second in oral reasons. The team was coached by Deb Danforth, Castleton.

For individual scores, Jenna Bennett, Swanton, placed first overall (first in classes, fourth in reasons). Seanna Erickson, Florence, was fourth high individual (third in classes, eighth in reasons). Viola Brown, Vernon, placed seventh overall (sixth in classes, fifth in reasons) while Rose Ouimet, Castleton, was eighth (seventh in classes, sixth in reasons).

The Vermont hippology team swept the competition, winning firsts in each of the four phases and first place overall. The team was coached by Jolene Fontaine, Jericho.

Individual overall placements were Haileigh Demers, Westford (first); Emma Sibley, Milton (third); Shyanne Wedge, Shoreham (fourth); and Natalie Jackman, Vergennes (sixth). Haileigh also earned the highest score in each phrase. Emma was third in stations and judging and sixth in the written exam.

Natalie was fifth in stations, sixth in judging and fourth in the written phase. Finishing fourth in stations was Shyanne, who placed seventh in judging and second in the written test.

Vermont was the only state to participate in the communications contest. So instead of judging the demonstrations, the evaluators, Lisa Muzzey, Chester, and Kassidy and Tina Wyman, Cambridgeport, offered in-depth critique to help the 4-H’ers tweak their presentations for the national competition in November.

Danville 4-H’er Tieghan Perry presented an individual demonstration on equine recurrent uveitis, the most common cause of blindness in horses. She was coached by Joanne Perry, Danville.

Twin sisters Lily and Samantha Provost, Milton, gave a team demonstration, “Exhibiting Memories,” showing inventive ways to repurpose ribbons won in 4-H competitions. Their coach was their mother, Jessie Provost.

The event was coordinated by 4-H volunteer Mary Fay, Westford. Deb Danforth, Castleton, arranged for the facilities and lunch as well as organized the judging classes. 

Cassie Kennett, Vergennes, the scorekeeper for judging, was assisted by Cheryl Brown, Vernon. Lisa Muzzey, Chester; James Provost, Milton; and Wendy Sorrell, UVM Extension 4-H livestock educator; scored the hippology contest.

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