Currituck County 4-H was well represented at the State 4-H Horse Judging competition held on April 15, 2023 on the campus of Martin Community College in Williamston, North Carolina.
Sophia Haislop placed first overall in the Junior Rookie division. Emma Marshall placed fourth overall in the Senior Rookie division. Cayden Lowe placed fifth in the Senior Performance Judging category. Carsyn Sawyer placed ninth in the Senior Oral Reasons category and the Senior 4-H team placed fifth overall in team competition.
The competition consisted of about 150 4-H youth with ages ranging 8 -18. Youth put their horse judging skills to the test evaluating animal confirmation in three classes before moving on to six performance based classes. Finally, competitors defended their placings in the oral reasons portion of the contest where they delivered, from memory, four sets of two minute reasons to a contest official.
Members of the Currituck County Senior team were Carson Sawyer, Emerson Page, Cayden Lowe, and Haley Bisese. Junior Rookie individuals included Sophia Haislop and Isabel Cox. The Currituck Senior Rookie individual was Emma Marshall.
For more information on horse programs available to Currituck County youth through 4-H contact Tom Harrell at 252-232-2262 or Tom_Harrell@ncsu.edu.