TEXAS STATE 4-H HORSE SHOW CROWNS 32 CHAMPIONS
College Station, Texas – Youths across the state of Texas put their horsemanship skills to the test during the 49th Texas State 4-H Horse Show the last week of July in Abilene, Texas. They competed in a variety of events from roping to showmanship, precision riding to hunter hack over an eight-day period, vying for one of the 32 state championships up for grabs.
Almost 2,000 entries made up this year’s show, with 645 4-H members from 142 counties in Texas represented. More than 800 horses were exhibited at the event. The 2011 show marked the 25th year the Texas State 4-H Horse Show was held in Abilene. The show offers youth the opportunity to exhibit their horses and futurity projects against other top competitors from across the state.
In the largest division of the show, the Speed division, Kailee Kapke of Hawley wrapped up the high point honors, with Marki Cleveland of Wichita Falls finishing reserve. Kapke and her horse, “Bucky” had the fastest time in the pole bending and second-fastest in the stakes race.
In the Western division, Morgan Redwine of Abilene repeated as high point champion, with Amarillo’s Logan Pluhar coming in Reserve. Redwine and “Barbie” won trail and were reserve in western pleasure.
The Stock Horse division saw a new high point champion this year in Quincy Carlton from Happy. Carlton showed a horse he had trained for last year’s three-year-old futurity in the stock horse events this year. The Reserve Champion High Point went to Ryan Birkenfeld of Nazareth.
Savannah Day repeated as Hunter Over Fences high point champion. This is the second year in a row the Abilene rider has won the award. Andi Mitchell of Amarillo earned reserve.
The Hunter Flat division featured Randi Anderson of Bryan garnered the champion English flat rider honors. This marked Anderson’s last year of 4-H eligibility, and she was excited to go out on top. Morgan Redwine of Abilene, was reserve.
A win in the breakway roping earned Jace Allen of Abilene the high point roper award, while Dakota McDonald of Post was reserve.
In addition to state titles, the show also awards $4,200 in Wrangler Scholarships to 4-H members in various categories. This year’s scholarship winners included Randi Anderson, Kolt Hill, Ryan Birkenfeld, Dejonna Casselman-Reed and Brittany Jones.
Wrangler has sponsored the show for 11 years. Cargill Animal Nutrition is another long term sponsor, and this year the show welcomed Anderson Bean Boot Company and the National Reining Horse Association as sponsors. Anderson Bean Boot Company donated boots for every first place winner and the six high point division winners, as well as vests to the champion precision and drill teams. Numerous buckle sponsors assure top quality prizes are awarded in every class.
Through their sponsorship, the National Reining Horse Association also created a unique opportunity for the top three 4-H riders in the reining to “catch ride” with top riders from the National Reining Horse Youth Association at the NRHA Cowtown Classic in Fort Worth in August. Participating from 4-H are 4-H Champion Cody Cannon of Henrietta, Quincy Carlton of Happy and Brenna Braddock of Nazareth.
The Texas State 4-H Horse Show is managed by a group of more than 50 county extension agents and volunteers who put in tireless hours of work in order for Texas youth to have a high-quality show.
Complete results for each class are available online at
Photos: Jay Hardy Photography (
Photos:
Jace Allen of Abilene, TX won Breakaway Roping
Kailee Kapke of Hawley, TX won High Point in Speed Events (Cover Photo – Barrel Racing)
Quincy Carlton, Happy, TX won High Point in Stock Horse Division.