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GIRARD —
GIRARD — It’s not absolutely necessary for horse and rider to color coordinate their saddles and shirts, but quite a few of the entrants in the 4-H horse show Thursday did just that.
Some humans involved also styled their horses’ manes and tails, and it was rumored that a few of those luxuriant flowing tails may have been the result of horsehair extensions.
This attention to having a good appearance is only part of the seriousness of the competition and the dedication of the young riders as they competed in halter and performance events.
“I try to ride at least five days a week,” said Layne Karhoff, a member of the Lucky Riders 4-H Club. “That doesn’t always happen, but most of the time it does. If I have a big show coming up, I’ll work Bella extra hard.”
She and Bella were both pretty in pink, and on Wednesday Karhoff carefully sectioned off Bella’s mane and fastened the sections with rubber bands.
Another hard worker was Lily Zimmerman, who said she practices all the time.
Her horse Thursday was Zips Ultimate Chip, nicknamed Hallie, a mare of the very best breeding.
“Hallie was bred and raised by Darelyn Bearden out of her point-producing mare,” said Crystal Zimmerman, Lily’s mother. “Hallie thinks she’s a princess and we’re her servants. She’s got a princess stall in the horse barn.”
The princess and her girl racked up a long list of championships in the show.
“I got grand champion in halter mare, grand champion in showmanship, grand champion in western pleasure, reserve champion in horsemanship and grand champion in trail,” Lily Zimmerman said.
Serving as judge was Rachel Martin, Fort Scott Community College instructor who started the FSCC horse judging team and frequently judges 4-H, open and circuit shows.
Different events are judged according to different requirements.
“For western pleasure you try to be collected and slow, and have good posture,” said Sydney Gottlob, who won reserve champion honors . “And you need to look like you’re having fun.”
Martin stressed the importance of horsemanship before that part of the competition.
“It’s most important to have control,” she said. “You don’t train a horse fast, you train slow and correct, or you’ll get fast and incorrect. In horsemanship we look for good communication and a good relationship between the horse and rider.”
GIRARD — It’s not absolutely necessary for horse and rider to color coordinate their saddles and shirts, but quite a few of the entrants in the 4-H horse show Thursday did just that.
Some humans involved also styled their horses’ manes and tails, and it was rumored that a few of those luxuriant flowing tails may have been the result of horsehair extensions.
This attention to having a good appearance is only part of the seriousness of the competition and the dedication of the young riders as they competed in halter and performance events.
“I try to ride at least five days a week,” said Layne Karhoff, a member of the Lucky Riders 4-H Club. “That doesn’t always happen, but most of the time it does. If I have a big show coming up, I’ll work Bella extra hard.”
She and Bella were both pretty in pink, and on Wednesday Karhoff carefully sectioned off Bella’s mane and fastened the sections with rubber bands.
Another hard worker was Lily Zimmerman, who said she practices all the time.
Her horse Thursday was Zips Ultimate Chip, nicknamed Hallie, a mare of the very best breeding.
“Hallie was bred and raised by Darelyn Bearden out of her point-producing mare,” said Crystal Zimmerman, Lily’s mother. “Hallie thinks she’s a princess and we’re her servants. She’s got a princess stall in the horse barn.”
The princess and her girl racked up a long list of championships in the show.
“I got grand champion in halter mare, grand champion in showmanship, grand champion in western pleasure, reserve champion in horsemanship and grand champion in trail,” Lily Zimmerman said.
Serving as judge was Rachel Martin, Fort Scott Community College instructor who started the FSCC horse judging team and frequently judges 4-H, open and circuit shows.
Different events are judged according to different requirements.
“For western pleasure you try to be collected and slow, and have good posture,” said Sydney Gottlob, who won reserve champion honors . “And you need to look like you’re having fun.”
Martin stressed the importance of horsemanship before that part of the competition.
“It’s most important to have control,” she said. “You don’t train a horse fast, you train slow and correct, or you’ll get fast and incorrect. In horsemanship we look for good communication and a good relationship between the horse and rider.”
Communication and a good relationship are also important in trail, a challenging event in which the horse and rider must navigate through poles laid out on the arena ground, around cones and over a simulated bridge.
“The kids can walk through the course before they ride it,” Crystal Zimmerman said.
Her daughter shows and competes extensively, but Zimmerman said that this was the first year that Lily, a Lucky Riders member, had competed in the Crawford County 4-H horse show.
“This show is outstanding,” Zimmerman said. “It’s amazing how much the community has put into this.”
Winners in the 4-H horse show are: Lily Zimmerman, stock type mare grand champion; Jessica Brynds, stock type mare reserve; Tori Bastion, grade type mares, grand champion; Shayla Sjorlund, grade type mares, reserve; Sami Milburn, stock type geldings, grand champion; Abbie Stephan, stock type geldings, reserve; Rebecca Wright, non-stock type geldings, grand champion; Hartley Merrell, geldings, grand champion; Jack Clark, geldings, reserve; Makeala Griffin, pony mares, grand champion; Kalin Griffin, pony mares, reserve; Austin Smith, pony geldings, grand champion; Quinton Lunsford, pony geldings, reserve; Lily Zimmerman, senior showmanship, grand champion; J.T. Morris, senior showmanship, reserve; Sydney Gottlob, intermediate showmanship, grand champion; Madisyn Robinson, intermediate showmanship, reserve; Austin McKechnie, junior showmanship, grand champion; Paris Taylor, junior showmanship, reserve; Taylor Brynds, pony pleasure, grand champion; Quinton Lunsford, pony pleasure, reserve; Paris Taylor, walk-trot, grand champion; Jill Clark, walk-trot, reserve; Lily Zimmerman, senior western pleasure, grand champion; J.T. Morris, senior western pleasure, reserve; Sydney Gottlob, intermediate western pleasure, grand champion; Layne Karhoff, intermediate western pleasure, reserve; Austin McKechnie, junior western pleasure, grand champion; Jackie White, junior western pleasure, reserve.
J.T. Morris, senior western horsemanship, grand champion; Lily Zimmerman, senior western horsemanship, reserve; Sydney Gottlob, intermediate western pleasure, grand champion; Layne Karhoff, intermediate western pleasure, reserve; Austin McKechnie, junior western horsemanship, grand champion; Miranda Hartman, junior western horsemanship, reserve; Lily Zimmerman, senior trail, grand champion; J.T. Morris, senior trail, reserve; Sydney Gottlob, intermediate trail, grand champion; Rebecca Wright, intermediate trail, reserve; Jackie White, junior trail, grand champion; Miranda Hartman, junior trail, reserve; Quinton Lunsford, pony trail, grand champion; Jackie White, pony trail, reserve; Lily Zimmerman, senior reining, grand champion; Tara Miller, senior reining, reserve; Layne Karhoff, intermediate reining, grand champion; Jackie White, junior reining, grand champion; Sydney Gottlob, intermediate English pleasure, grand champion; and Sydney Gottlob, intermediate English equitation, grand champion.
