Stablemates 4-H Horse Club
Stafford / Fredericksburg VA

The equine dentistry workshop we held on Saturday June 6th given by Altie Moore was fantastic. Altie taught us a lot about teeth we didn’t know and used several of Majestic Meadow’s horses as demonstration horses. She showed us the teeth of an older horse, a young horse and a horse who had a dental accident when he was young. The kids even learned how to safely feel for wolf teeth in a horse’s mouth. She gave the kids some fantastic hand outs which maybe they’ll share. She also showed them lots of teeth she’s taken out over the years. It really was fascinating. We want to send a big thank you out to Altie for volunteering her time for this. It was greatly appreciated!

On May 30th five Stablemate members attended the 4-H district horse show at Rosemount Farm.

Caroline competed in senior hunter pleasure horse GAYP and senior hunter horse W/T/C.

Delaney placed 5th in junior hunter pleasure horse GAYP and 2nd in junior trail.

Anna placed 5th in senior trail, 4th in pole bending, 4th in senior western equitation, and got a red danish ribbon in senior western showmanship.

Adam placed 4th in barrel racing and 4th in keyhole.

Jessie placed 6th in barrel racing, 5th in pole bending, and 6th in keyhole.

We all had a great time and greatly appreciated Mrs. Sue’s help.

On Saturday May 16th the Stablemates will be having a Tack Sale at Tractor Supply on Route 3 from 10am to 2pm in Fredericksburg. You can rent a table for $15 to sell your tack or just come and shop. For more info call Paula at 540-273-0588 or email her at tarpit19 [Email address: tarpit19 #AT# msn.com - replace #AT# with @ ]

On March 20th and 21st, one of our Junior members attended the Virginia State 4H Hippology and Horse Judging Competition in Lexington Virginia.
Delaney was awarded the 2009 Virginia State Junior 4-H High Point Hippology Champion along with also being awarded the 2009 State Junior Novice Horse Judging Champion.

Congratulations to Delaney from everyone at Stablemates!

From State Hippology

From Northern District Hippology Contest

From Northern District Hippology Contest

On February 7th 2009, Stablemates took a Junior team and a Senior team to the District Hippology contest in Warrenton. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day! The number of participants was HUGE – much larger than anyone (even the organizers) expected, and the questions were demanding. The Junior division alone had 18 teams of 3 to 4 members. Our teams worked very hard and did a great job. The Juniors were the big stars, taking second in the written test, 6th in stations and 2nd in high point team.   Delaney scored big in the individual divisions earning a 2nd in the written test, 3rd in stations and a 3rd in High point Individual.  Way To Go Girls! Everyone wins the 100-Grand!

On January 17th, Stablemates traveled to Timonium, MD to attend the Maryland Horse Expo. The trip was fantastic! No one wanted to leave. There were so many different demonstrations and clinics going on that we had to choose which ones were the best for us. We attended several demonstrations, looked at the very nice horses, and even had time for a little shopping! One vendor’s booth provided us the unique opportunity of closely examining a real horse’s skeleton - a very timely opportunity since we are studying for the hippology contest. Lunch at Panera’s was fun as well. Even the ride up and back was fun. Traffic, which was supposed to be horrific, was a non-issue, as we cruised right up and back with no impedance! Oh….. and we learned that no one can say “Upper Marlboro”!

NORTHERN DISTRICT HIPPOLOGY CONTEST
FEBRUARY 7, 2009
FAUQUIER COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS, WARRENTON, VA
OBJECTIVES:
The primary objective of this contest is to provide 4-H youth from the Northern
district a friendly but competitive setting to demonstrate the breadth of their knowledge
and understanding of equine science and management, and in particular, the practical
application of this knowledge and skill. It is the aim of this contest to simulate more
closely the format of the National 4-H Hippology Contest.
SCHEDULE:
8:45 - 9:15 am Registration
9:15 -9:30 am Instructions and overview of contest
9:30 -11:30 pm Hippology written test, slides, stations, team problem
11:30 – 1:00 Lunch on your own at local food establishments
1:00 - 2:30 pm Judging portion of test, four classes of horses
3:00 - 3:30 pm Review of test and judging classes
3:30 – 4:00 pm Awards Presentation
ELIGIBILITY:
This contest is open to all 4-H members. There will be two divisions: Juniors
(those age 13 and under on Jan. 1, 2009) and Seniors, (age 14 or older on Jan. 1, 2009
but who have not achieved their 19th birthday by January 1st of current year).
Contestants may participate as a team (3 or 4 persons) or as individuals.
ENTRY PROCEDURES AND COSTS:
1. Entries will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. Priority will be given to in
district teams if we have more teams than we can accommodate.
2. Individuals from units not sending full teams will be accepted as room permits also
on a first come first serve basis. Teams may be made up with members from more
than one club or unit, however, they must be registered as a team before the day
of the contest. We will not put together mixed teams the day of the contest. No more
than two teams per division per club will be accepted.
3. Costs: Teams - $12. Individuals - $4. Checks for fees should be made out to
Northern District 4-H Horse Council and must accompany entry forms.
4. Entry Deadline: Friday, Jan. 23.
5. Receipt of entries will be acknowledged only if we have more entries than we
can accommodate.

As a member of the club, you are required to do at least one 4-H presentation during the year. (To sign up, please see Anna the President).

Choosing a Topic

• You should pick a topic that you are interested in and one that is both appropriate to your age level and degree of difficulty(senior 4-Hers should not do a presentation on horse colors or horse parts, etc).
• This is your chance to teach the club something they may not know about horses-you will be the “club expert” in your presentation area.
• Presentations require planning in advance-don’t wait until the night of the meeting to prepare your presentation. As you work on your presentation, you will find it helps to learn as much as you can about your subject. This will give you the security that you are a lot more of an “expert” on your subject than your audience.

Parts of a successful presentation:

• The Introduction-Your name, age, years in 4-H. This will also be the interest-getter as you introduce your topic and make the audience feel your subject is worth their time to listen and watch
• The Body- The longest part of your presentation.You go in depth on your topic. Example: if you are demonstrating steps to doing something, this is where you talk and demonstrate your steps.
• The Summary-Should be brief. Your last chance to “sell your ideas” or repeat your key points. You can make a closing statement and then thank the audience and ask for questions.

Length of Time

• 2-5 minutes for Juniors (9-11 years)
• 5-10 minutes for Intermediates (12-13 years)
• 10-15 minutes for Seniors (14-19 years)

Visual Aids

• Keep your visuals simple and neat (Limit the amount of material on each poster for easy reading).
• Posters should be at least 22″ x 28″ to be large enough to be seen.
• Use larger letters for the title and smaller for the other print
• Plan your poster carefully (outline letters and figures first in pencil, then go over in ink and markers). You can also choose to print your words from a computer.
• PowerPoint presentation-We can reserve a projector from the 4H extension office, but you need to tell a leader in advance of needing it.

For more information on 4-H presentations, click here

We are having a tack cleaning day. We will be cleaning donated tack for the club to sell at the tack swap on December 6th at noon at Ms Wendy’s farm. Her address is 41 Richards Ferry Road Fredericksburg VA 22406.

The Stablemates 4-H Club is having a Tack Sale on December 13th 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM at the Trading Post 1171 Warrenton Road Fredericksburg VA. The location is convenient to both I-95 and Route 1 (across from Booth Feeds on Route 17/Warrenton Road in Stafford County).

If you’re interested in selling your own items you can rent a table for $10. Call 540-273-0588.

What a great way to save money on tack items you need and sell those that you don’t! Come check out the sale and meet our club!  We take care of the advertising! All proceeds benefit the Stablemates 4-H Club.

The club will also have a table full of donated items that will be sold with all proceeds going directly to the club!