As the I arose early on this Saturday morning, I asked myself why I continue to volunteer to help hold this local 4-H Horse Show when I could sleep in after a long tax season. Well I got the answer to my question as the day unfolded.
The weather was perfect, volunteers all arrived to cheerfully check coggins tests, set up jumps and trail class obstacles, open and close gates, hand out ribbons, assist with registration, post patterns, help riders with questions and issues, and offer words and cheers of encouragement. All enjoying the day's events while working with horses and riders, both young and young at heart.
An adult rider from Taylorsville bringing his horse to its first show informed us that he had seen our flyer at Latta Platation and felt like it would be a good show for a debut. This made my older daughter feel like the time she had taken to distribute information worth her efforts. It is a wonderful thing in life to know that you help others achieve their goals, no matter how small your job may be. I didn't have the honor of speaking with him before he left that morning, but I hope that he had a successful day.
We had several new young riders this horse show and it is always wonderful to watch them work through their fears and anxiety and leave with smiles and a feeling of accomplishment. One of our young riders was participating in her second show, last October being her first one. She left last October with one ribbon, a blue one for trail class, feeling somewhat disappointed and overjoyed at the same time. Returning to her second show, she took home the High Point Grand Champion Ribbon for the Novice Western Division. However, it was not the improvement in her riding skills that impressed me the most, but a comment made to her mother at the end of her first class. It was a class of seven riders, of which only six received a ribbon. Grace received her first ribbon of the day, a 1st place ribbon in a horsemanship class. I wish I had a picture of her grin when she was announced winner of the class. But what made a lasting impression on me that day were Grace's words as she exited the arena gate, "I know exactly how she feels (speaking of the child in seventh place), Mother, go tell her she did a great job!" Not only are we teaching horsemanship and showmanship skills to our children through 4-H activities, we are teaching compassion and empathy. What wonderful by-products!
Another moving moment during the day was our lead line class, where our younger riders and those with special needs are lead around the arena aback their faithful furry four-legged friends by their trainer or parent. We had an exceptional lead line class this day and our wonderful judge, Amanda McGuire, did a fabulous job of placing this class. Tango escorted our most handsome rider, Carson H., the rider with the prettiest seat, Sidney S. was escorted by Rosa, astride Red was Dillon S. with the best smile, and the happiest rider of the day, Clark was escorted by the hard working Dido. All leaving the arena with blue 1st place ribbons to a swarm of paparazzi waiting to capture this special moment on film. Thank you Amanda for such a special touch!
After all of the "serious" classes had been completed we moved into the competitive games classes. This is always an exciting part of the day where riders race around poles and barrels, try to hold eggs on spoons while riding their horses, and try to keep that buck under their thigh as they gallop bareback around the arena. The reason this is my favorite part of the day is that I get to observe a group of people that may have started the day as strangers, end the same day as new friends and cheering each other to the finish line!
As the day ended, and three of the four adults that are the backbone of this show were packing up to head home, the question I asked myself this morning was asked again by someone other than me. As we stood there watching the last of the horses load up and head out we were able to reflect on all of the amazing things we had experienced on this day and we knew the answer! We hope to see you all in October!
Many thanks to all of our riders that allow us this wonderful opportunity to see the important things in life, to Sara Drake (our awesome 4-H Agent), to Judge Amanda, her mother and Caitlin (exceptional ring steward),to our sponsors, to Craige and Zach, to all the 4-Hers that volunteered their time on Saturday, and especially to our furry four-legged friends that help teach us wonderful life lessons.
Now for the facts!
Novice English Division
Grand Champion - Shelby Walther
Reserve Champion - Annabelle Nagy
Junior English Division
Grand Champion - Eden Emmons
Reserve Champion - Rebecca Malloy
Senior English Division
Grand Champion - Morgan Blythe
Adult Engish Division
Grand Champion - Amy Henderson
Reserve Champion - Robin Tester
Novice Western Division
Grand Champion - Grace Huneycutt
Reserve Champion - Audrey Hunt
Junior Western Division
Grand Champion - Cole Manus
Reserve Champion - Micah Furr
Senior Western Division
Grand Champion - Alexandra Young
Reserve Champion - Madison Lloyd
Adult Western Division
Grand Champion - Greg Tippett
Reserve Champion - Amy Henderson
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