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4-H Horsefest held Saturday afternoon
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Vernon County 4-H members gathered at the Vernon County Fairgrounds arena Saturday afternoon for Horse Fest 2016.
"The purpose of the day was to show area youth, specifically those enrolled in 4-H, what classes are available for them to show at the fair. This will allow them to set goals for the year and work throughout the winter and spring months," countywide horse committee co-chairperson Crystal Burch said.
Burch shares responsibility for the countywide horse committee with co-chairs Jamie Sisseck, and Cindy Vandenburg.
About a dozen local youth attended the afternoon-long event, which featured demonstrations, and hands-on experiences.
4-H members can participate in several different horse classes: Halter, showmanship, English equitation, Western pleasure, Western horsemanship, ranch riding, reining, games and special classes.
Some classes are further divided at the Youth Fair by age of the horse, the age of the participant, or the size of the horse and the age of the participant.
"Local volunteers were able to demonstrate long line, horsemanship and Western pleasure along with barrel racing and poles. Those in attendance were able to listen to Tom Williams, horse trainer and show judge talk about the proper way to display and show a horse. Jennifer Gundy was also there as a volunteer to show game classes." Burch said.
First in the arena Saturday was local horse trainer Tom Williams. With the help of Lauryn "Lou" Hollands, a 4-H youth horsemanship participant, Williams explained showmanship while Hollands demonstrated with a horse.
In the showmanship classes, the 4-H member does not ride the horse, but instead leads the horse through a pattern in the arena including skills such as walk, trot, pivot, and backup.
"You can't let your horse stand out in the pasture until the week before the fair," Williams said, emphasizing practice was a necessity.
Williams invited the attendees to join him in the ring for a hands-on experience.
"Its all about body position," Williams said.
Following the showmanship demonstration, Williams explained longing to the gathered 4-H members.
Longing is used to acclimate young horses to a halter and bit and to voices commands from the trainer. The trainer holds a long rope attached to the horses halter and through the use of a whip and verbal commands guides the horse through a series of exercises as the horse moves in a circle around the trainer.
Following Williams in the arena was Jennifer Gundy, who first talked about the equipment, or tack, needed for competing in the games classes. Each different class has its own tack requirements and dress code for the rider. For example, a western pleasure rider wears jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and a cowboy hat. An English equitation rider will wear a black coat and hat or helmet.
The games classes include barrel racing, flag race and pole bending.
Then, from horseback and using a remote microphone, Gundy went through the basics of training a horse for barrel racing before giving a full speed demonstration.
Cole Burch, Crystal Burch's son, is enrolled in his third year in horses and said his favorite part of the day was the horse trivia.
Sisseck, Vandenburg, Burch, Staci Andersen and Charlie Comstock also volunteered their time Saturday.
Comstock explained hoof care, Anderson talked about nutrition, and Crystal Burch hosted horse trivia.
For those who do not have a horse, there are others ways to participate. Vernon County offers two classes called horseless horse and horse knowledge.
Participants in these classes can make a variety of projects such as a toolbox for hoof care tools, a saddle stand, or displays detailing judging criteria for horses.
For more information on 4-H go to 4h.missouri.edu.