The 2015 Virginia State 4-H Championship Horse and Pony Show was held Sept. 10-13 in Lexington’s Virginia Horse Center. This statewide horse show hosts more than 700 youth from across the state, who compete in a wide variety of contests, as well as the State Championship Horse and Pony Show. The show is in its 54th year and draws more than 2,000 youth, parents and volunteers from across the state. The show is run by volunteers, many of whom grew up in the program and continue to give back.
Congratulations to the 13 youth, representing three different clubs from Chesterfield County, who competed. These contests included 415 horse show competitors and 2,000 class entries. Six Chesterfield County participants finished in second place in their competitions: Emily Popp, Delaney Robinson, Katie Dunn, Lauren Scherrer, Maggie Phipps, and Megan Gaines. The other participants were Kellie Hendrix, Avery Fletcher, Lauren Gaines, Madeline Renault, Mackenzie Jones, Dot Lower and Rachel Stacy.
In addition to the Horse and Pony Show, youth also competed in art, photography and record book/portfolio contests, as well as other horse-related contests. Rachel Stacy finished in third place in the senior division of the art contest.
Special recognition goes to the Chesterfield County Farm Bureau, who provided $3,000 in scholarship money. Many adults also volunteered their time throughout the year to prepare for the state show including: Gay Baker, Katelyn Rott, Bridget Phipps, Suzanne Popp, Tammy Breski, Donna Faber and Elaine Wilson.
For more information and detailed listings of results, visit the Virginia 4-H Horse Program website: www.4-h.ext.vt.edu/programs/anscience/horse. For more information about the 4-H clubs in Chesterfield County or how to become involved, contact Bethany Eigel at [email protected].
