Sixteen North Carolina 4-H’ers represented the NC 4-H Horse Program at two national educational competitions this past fall, capturing five team championship titles and several high individual awards. The first set of contests was held in October 2022 at the All-American Quarter Horse Congress at the Ohio State Fairgrounds in Columbus, Ohio. The Congress is the largest single-breed horse show in the world. The first weekend in November, the youth and coaches traveled to Louisville, Kentucky, for the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup. The Eastern Nationals is held during the North American International Livestock Exposition. The North Carolina delegation competed in Horsebowl, Hippology, Horse Judging and Communications events. The Communications contests consisted of Individual Presentations, Team Presentations, and Public Speaking.

The 2022 NC 4-H Horsebowl team consisted of Wake County 4-H’ers Annie Winter and Madie Noblin, Saona Wilcox from Alamance County, and Sara Richarson from Chatham County. Wake County leader Beth Morgan was the team coach. The North Carolina girls captured the Quarter Horse Congress title, going through bracket play undefeated. Wilcox won high individual, Winter placed second, and Noblin placed third. The team also won the Eastern National Horsebowl Team Championship, with Noblin placing third overall; Winter placing fourth, and Wilcox placing seventh. North Carolina has won the Eastern National 4-H Horsebowl contest for the past four years. In the Communications contests, North Carolina was represented by Anastasia Smith from Orange County, Olivia Hill from Union County, Victoria Smith from Chatham County, and Cayden Lowe from Currituck County.

Anastasia Smith competed in the Public Speaking contest with her speech, “The Emotional Sponges.” She described how human emotions affect horses. Smith – coached by Orange County 4-H agent Jonathan Smith – shared research on this topic and some personal stories of how emotions have impacted the horses she has ridden and shown. At both the Quarter Horse Congress and Eastern Nationals, she placed fourth. Olivia Hill and Victoria Smith paired up to compete in the Team Presentation competition with their presentation, “Sweatin’ for Success in the Saddle.” They covered the benefits of riders engaging in a regular exercise program, examples of how physical fitness can improve riding and the horse’s performance, and demonstrated example exercises. Their coach was Union County 4-H leader Samantha Taylor. Their presentation secured first place at Quarter Horse Congress and second place at Eastern Nationals. Cayden Lowe completed the Communications team with her Individual Presentation, “Injection Connection.” She shared her research on therapeutic treatments – primarily hock injections – for use in performance horses, including the costs, risks and potential alternatives. Lowe won top honors at both the Quarter Horse Congress and Eastern Nationals. She was coached by her mother and Currituck County Extension Director, Cameron Lowe. At the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup, the North Carolina ladies won reserve champion team honors in the State Communications Team contest.

The NC 4-H Hippology team was composed of Chatham County 4-H’ers Samantha Durham and Kyra Worth, Allee Coble from Alamance County, and Lauren Williams from Gaston County. The team coaches were Chatham County 4-H leaders Mary Dickerson and Ruth Vorder Bruegge. Hippology has four phases: exam and identification, stations, judging, and team problems. At the Quarter Horse Congress, the team placed 1st in Exam, 3rd in Stations, 1st in Judging, and 1st Overall. Individually, team members received the following awards:

• Samantha Durham – 7th in Exam, 8th in Judging , 9th Overall
• Allee Coble – 5th in Exam, 9th in Stations, 1st in Judging, 6th Overall
• Kyra Worth – 4th in Exam, 7th in Stations, 5th Overall
• Lauren Williams – 8th in Exam, 5th in Stations, 6th in Judging, 7th Overall

At the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup, the team had an impressive showing, winning the overall championship by 172 points. In addition to winning the overall team title, they placed 1st in Exams, 1st in Judging, 1st in Stations, and 3rd in Team Problems. All four team members placed overall in the top ten, in addition to several other honors:

• Allee Coble – 7th Written Phase, 3rd Stations, 2nd Overall
• Kyra Worth – 1st Written Phase, 7th Stations, 8th Judging, 3rd Overall
• Lauren Williams- 3rd Written Phase, 5th Stations, 5th Overall
• Samantha Durham- 8th Written Phase, 6th Stations, 2nd Judging, 7th Overall

2022 marked the fifth consecutive year North Carolina has claimed the champion Hippology team title.

The North Carolina 4-H Horse Judging team consisted of Nash County 4-H’ers Hannah Mennig and Bryleigh Colbert and Cumberland County 4-H’ers Olivia Juergens and Stevie Sharum. Chatham County 4-H leaders Mary Dickerson and Ruth Vorder Bruegge coached the team. Horse Judging competitions award the top ten placings for halter judging, performance judging, oral reasons, and overall. At the Quarter Horse Congress, the team placed 3rd in Halter, 2nd in Performance, 4th in Reasons, and 3rd Overall. All four team members placed in the top ten overall:

• Steve Sharum – 5th in Performance, 8th Overall
• Hannah Menning – 9th in Halter, 10th in Reasons, 10th Overall
• Olivia Juergens – 7th in Halter, 8th In Reasons, 9th Overall
• Bryleigh Colbert – 3rd in Performance, 6th Overall

In the Eastern National competition, the NC judging team placed 2nd in Halter, first in Performance, and first in Reasons. Their outstanding performance earned them the overall champion team title, helping North Carolina repeat as team champions in this contest. Team member honors included:

• Bryleigh Colbert – 3rd in Reasons
• Hannah Mennig – 3rd in Halter, 1st in Performance, 1st in Reasons, 1st Overall
• Stevie Sharum – 6th in Halter, 3rd in Performance, 2nd in Reasons, 4th Overall
• Olivia Juergen – 1st in Halter, 7th in Performance, 6th in Reasons, 3rd Overall

The NC State Extension Equine Husbandry staff is extremely grateful for the hard work and effort that all the youth and coaches dedicated to representing the state in these events. A huge thank-you to those who sponsored our state contests and events. The North Carolina State 4-H Horse program also appreciates the support of the Department of Animal Science at NC State, North Carolina 4-H, and North Carolina Cooperative Extension.