Members of the Browning 4-H Club participated in an achievement day recently at an indoor riding arena on a farm near Lampman.
Club members participated in six different judged competitions: showmanship, trail pattern, western pleasure, equitation, horsemanship and judging. The first five categories had participants in all four age groups – cloverbud, junior, intermediate and senior. The judging category did not include cloverbuds.
The cloverbuds (ages six to eight) were Jenna Fleury, Carmen Neumier, Bella Tedmord and Arizona Spenser. Juniors (ages nine to 12) were Sierra Englot and Karina Hjorteland.
Intermediates (ages 13-15) were Hannah Hjorteland and Sarah McGillicky. Ashley Kerslake was the only senior, which is for ages 16-21.
Glenn Gress, Cheri Gress and Stacey Kerslake were the coaches.
In the cloverbuds, Fleury was first in showmanship, Spenser was first in trail patterns and western pleasure, and Neumier was first in equitation and horsemanship. Tedmond had a second place finish in trail patterns for her best result.
Hjorteland was first in showmanship, western pleasure, equitation and horsemanship for the juniors, while Englot was first in trail pattern.
In the intermediate division, Hjorteland was first in showmanship, western pleasure, equitation, while McGillicky was first in trail pattern and horsemanship.
Showmanship involves how the 4H member shows their horse and how the horse and rider work as a team. Trail pattern is an obstacle pattern where points are deducted if the horse steps on or hits any of the obstacles.
Western pleasure is a riding class where the kids walk and trot, with 60 per cent of the score based on the horse. Equitation is another riding class where the youths walk and trot their horse, and 60 per cent is for the rider.
Horsemanship is a practised pattern where the youths are judged on how they perform as a team with their horse.
The judge for these events was Pat Dayman from Corning.
After the activities, the youths and families met for a potluck meal, and trophies, prizes and ribbons were handed out. There were many sponsors who made it possible to give prizes to the 4-H members.
