Please join us for the 4-H State Championship Show this week, September 12-15. More than 450 youth from across Virginia will compete in many disciplines, including reining, driving, pleasure, dressage, hunter, saddle seat, and showmanship.
4-H strives to teach leadership, citizenship, and a vast array of life skills. “We use horses as a tool to learn life skills, such as teamwork, decision-making, and leadership skills,” says Celeste Crisman, Extension Equine Specialist and manager of the Championships.
In addition to riding divisions, 4-H students may enter art, photography, horse judging and hippology contests. The Championships also offers fun activities for the 4-H youth with clinics, a stall decorating contest, ice cream social, and freestyle drill team performances.
Youth riders began preparing for the Championships in May, when they had to declare a project animal and begin keeping careful records of their training progress and financials, such as all expenses and depreciation costs. Competitors must also pass a horsemanship skills test to enter the Championships.
For more information, please visit the 4-H website.
Standing for head, heart, hands, and health, 4-H uses more than a century of experience in youth development programming to build strong, confident leaders. Through school-based, after-school, and community clubs as well as camp settings, 4-H members pledge to build a better community, country, and world.
