Aaron Fisher, Youth Livestock and Equine Specialist

Youth from across Tennessee braved the rain this past weekend to compete at the State 4-H Horse Bowl and Hippology Contests in Knoxville. County teams qualified at their regional contests, with the top four teams from the Junior (grades 4-5), Junior High (grades 6-8) and Senior (grades 9-12) advancing to the state contest.

Counties represented included: Blount, Crockett, Cumberland, Dyer, Gibson, Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, Lawrence, Lincoln, Loudon, Marion, Maury, Putnam, Roane, Rutherford, Sullivan, Sumner, Tipton, Weakley and Williamson.

Horse Bowl Results:

A total of 133 youth competed in Horse Bowl; a quiz-bowl style contest where contestants are tested on their equine knowledge and must “buzz-in” before answering the questions in a head-to-head round with another team. The Rutherford County Senior Team will represent Tennessee at the South Regional 4-H Horse Championship in Perry, GA and the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup in Louisville, KY. The Loudon County Senior Team will represent Tennessee at the Southern Regional 4-H Horse Championship in Perry, GA.

Hippology Results:

A total of 125 youth competed in Hippology; an all-around contest, consisting of horse judging, written ex- am, slide identification, stations and team problem phases testing the nutrition, management, industry and health knowledge of the participants. The Loudon County Senior Team will represent Tennessee at the Southern Regional 4-H Horse Championship in Perry, GA and the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup in Louisville, KY. The Lincoln County Senior Team will represent Tennessee at the Southern Regional 4-H Horse Championship in Perry, GA.

Sarah Harper from Loudon County was awarded the Steve McNeil Horse Achievement Award for being the high individual in Senior Hippology.