Horses
Six delegates with horses and three teen leaders competed in the New England 4-H Horse Show the weekend of Sept. 24-26. They participated in Fitting and Showmanship, Equitation, General Knowledge, Judging, Quiz Bowl, and several classes with their horses.
Horse Delegates
- Tyley McClelland, Windham County
- Carlie Rondeau, Orleans County
- Paityn Paradee, Franklin County
- Penelope Longe, Orleans County
- Piper Parsons, Orleans County
- Taylor Peck, Caledonia County
Teen Leaders
- Emma Babyak, Franklin County
- Josie Kascha-Hare, Chittenden County
- Jenesy Zwart, Caledonia County
General Knowledge Results
Teen leaders
Josie Kascha-Hare, 5th
Emma Babyak, 8th
Jenesy Zwart, 9th
Delegates
Carlie Rondeau, 3rd
Penelope Longe, 7th
Team
Vermont, 3rd, with scores from Carlie Rondeau, Penelope Longe, Tyley McClelland and Josie Kascha-Hare contributing
Judging Contest Results
Teen Leaders
Emma Babyak, 1st
Josie Kascha-Hare, 2nd
Delegates
Paityn Paradee, 4th
Piper Parsons, 6th
Team
Vermont, 1st, with scores from Tyley McClelland, Paityn Paradee, Taylor Peck, and Piper Parsons
Quiz Bowl Results
Vermont team: Josie Kascha-Hare, Emma Babyak, Jenesy Zwart, and Carlie Rondeau, 1st
Vermont Delegates Finishing in Top Three Spots in Classes
Paityn Paradee
1st place in Fitting and Showmanship and Reserve Champion
1st from both judges in Western Pleasure and Western Equitation
1st and 3rd in Western All Around
2nd and 3rd in Western Handiness
Tyley McClelland
2nd place in Fitting and Showmanship
1st and 3rd in Western All Around
1st from both judges in Western Handiness
3rd in Ranch Pleasure
Emma Babyak
1st place in Teen Leader Fitting and Showmanship
Penelope Longe
2nd in Hunter Under Saddle and 3rd in Bridle Path Hack
Piper Parsons
1st in English Discipline Rail
Josie Kascha-Hare also won a special award for Sportsmanship.
Thank you to state volunteer leader Mary Fay, barn manager Jolene Fontaine, assistant barn manager Jean Fay, and chaperones included Krista Paradee, Jennifer Parker, Katie Higgins, Samantha Simoneau, and Dana McClelland.
Working Steers
Written by Lily Larocque
On Sept. 25, six teamsters from Vermont traveled to the Big E and four brought cattle to show.
Competing in the senior division were Matt Whitney and Lily Larocque from Orange County and Morgan Hutchins from Grafton County in New Hampshire. Competing in the junior division was Lydia Larocque from Orange County. Two teamsters came as apprentices: Claira Lucas from Addison County and Brock Pike from Orange County helped with whatever needed to be done, such as washing, cleaning, and holding teams while the competitors met with the judge and walked the courses.
There were three parts to compete in: Fit and Show, Cart Class, and Stone Boat.
For Fit and Show, teamsters are judged on the cleanliness of the cattle and themselves as well as their knowledge. Lily Larocque got first blue, Matt Whitney got first red, and Morgan Hutchins got second white in the senior division. In the junior division, Lydia Larocque got first blue.
For Cart Class, the judge set up obstacles for the teamsters to maneuver a two-wheeled cart through. In the senior class, Lily Larocque got first red, Matt Whitney got fifth red, and Morgan Hutchins got second white. Lydia Larocque got third blue in the junior class.
For Stone Boat, seniors had to pull 60% of the team's weight and juniors had to pull 50% of the team's weight through a course of obstacles. In the junior class, Lydia Larocque got fourth blue. In the senior class, Lily Larocque got third blue, Matt Whitney got sixth red, and Morgan Hutchins got second white.
In the awards ceremony after all three events, Lydia Larocque received the third place overall Junior award as well as the Junior Sportsmanship award. Lily Larocque earned the second place overall Senior award, and Matt Whitney received the Presidential Award belt buckle.
The team represented Vermont well and is looking forward to the 2027 show season.
Sheep
For the first time in a number of years, a Vermont youth competed in the Big E's New England 4-H Sheep Show held Oct. 2-4.
Natalie Layn of Addison County showed in — and won — seven classes. These include:
- Intermediate Showmanship
- All Other Breeds (AOB) Ram, in which LF02 Sterling became the Champion AOB Ram
- Intermediate Ram Lamb, in which LF05 Meadow became Reserve Champion Ram
- Junior Ram Lamb
- Pair of Ram Lambs
- Yearling Ewe, in which LF24 Annabella became Reserve Champion Ewe
- Intermediate Ewe Lamb
Natalie also earned the top spot in the Skillathon.
Congrats to all Vermont 4-H'ers competing in the Big E this year!
To learn more about the 4-H livestock programs, email Vermont 4-H Livestock Educator Wendy Sorrell at wendy.sorrell@uvm.edu or contact your local county educator.
