Young ladies compete at 4-H Horse Bowl

Maci, Jennica, Dr. Barb, Nicolette, Lily gathered for a photo.

On April 2, four area youth competed in the Northwest Regional for the 4-H Horse Bowl team competition and individual Hippology competition representing Winnebago County. Lily, Jennica, and Maci are from the Burritt Winners 4-H Club and Nicolette is from the Owen Center Blue Bonnets 4-H Club. Their coach is Dr. Barb Frampton, an area veterinarian. The Northwest Regional is comprised of 21 counties.

The Winnebago County team did well in their very first Horse Bowl team competition and excelled in the individual Hippology competition. In the Northwest Regional, Maci placed 11th, Jennica placed 5th, Lily placed 2nd and Nicolette placed 1st in the Junior Division.  Jennica, Lily and Nicolette qualified to compete at the 2022 Hippology 4-H State Competition. Lily, Intermediate Division, and Nicolette, Junior Division, competed at the Hippology 4-H State competition held April 23. Nicolette placed 5th in state.

Horse Bowl is similar to academic scholastic bowls except all the questions relate to horses!  Teams work together to answer questions related to horses, tack, history of horses, feed and much more.  The contestants must be quick thinking as they activate their electronic buzzer before their opponent in order to answer the question and score points.

The Hippology Competition is an opportunity for youth to individually demonstrate their breadth of knowledge and understanding of equine science and in particular the practical application of this knowledge and skill. The Hippology Competition includes a written and slides exam.  Example topics for the slide exam includes breed, color, activity, along with internal and external anatomy. After the exam, the youth rotate through stations to identify tack, equipment, feed samples and other horse related items.