Released: January 24, 2007

Kansas 4-H Members Earn Awards at Denver Stock Show

DENVER, COLO. – Record snows in the days leading up to the 87th Annual Western National
4-H/FFA Round-up failed to slow Kansas 4-H members who earned high marks in individual and team competitions – and enough total points for Kansas to claim first place in state competition.

The National 4-H Horse Classic-Western Division event is held in conjunction with the Denver National Western Stock Show in January, said Jim Adams, Kansas State University Research Extension 4-H youth development specialist.

“While the Roundup is a competition, it also encourages the development of life skills,” said Melissa Oliver, coordinator of the event.

Each 4-H winner excelled in his or her knowledge of horsemanship. Each also is enrolled in the state’s 4-H horse project, but having a horse is optional, said Adams, who noted that 4-H offers a horseless horse project in which young people interested in horses can learn about them without owning or leasing an animal.

The Kansas 2007 Western National 4-H Round-up winners include:

* Clinton Laflin, Greenwood County, earned first place with an individual demonstration titled: "The Reins of Life.” Laflin demonstrated therapeutic exercises that can be done on horseback, and is a repeat winner, having earned top honors in the public speaking division during the 2006 competition.

* Nicole Keenan, Logan County, paired with Sabrina Dellere, a former Decatur County 4-H’er now living in Butler County, to earn third place in the team demonstration competition. The young women demonstrated the proper dress for competing in a horse show in their presentation, “Extreme Makeover, Showmanship Edition.”

* The Cowley County Horse Judging Team, with members Meg Drake, Sarah Pankaskie, Chase Reed and Kendall Swint earned first place in their division. Team coach, Kelsey Holcomb, is a 4-H youth development agent in the county and a former collegiate horse judging team member at Oklahoma State University. Three members of the judging team also claimed honors as high-scoring individuals: Drake earned first place; Pankaskie, second place; and Reed, fifth place.

* The Hippology (knowledge about all aspects of horses) team, representing Phillips/Rooks Extension District #5, earned second place in the competition. Team members include Emily Zillinger, Jessica Zillinger, Shayne Runnion and Kylena Hager, and are coached by parents Jana Zillinger and Ellen Runnion.

Phillips/Rooks K-State Research and Extension agent Kent McKinnis credited the team’s success to their willingness to set aside study time during the busy holiday season.

“Success in previous competitions also has boosted their confidence for competing in larger competitive events,” said McKinnis, explaining that the team earned first place in the 2006 4-H Horse Panorama to qualify for the National 4-H Horse Classic-Western Division and second place in the 2005 Panorama, which earned them the opportunity to participate in a larger competition in Ohio.

* The Leavenworth County Quiz Bowl Team, which included Trevor Fousek, Austin Baragary, Nicole Allen and Sarah Smith and is coached by Vickie Smith, (a veterinarian from Tonganoxie), earned third place.

For Sarah Smith, competing seemed an unlikely dream, said Beth Hecht, Kansas State University Research and Extension 4-H youth development agent in Leavenworth County.

Preparation for the contest – and the support and encouragement from fellow team members – proved part of the healing process, said Hecht, who said that Sarah Smith had suffered a serious head injury last fall when a horse she was riding slipped on wet grass.

Smith’s mother, Vickie, who volunteers as the team coach, said investing time in teaching and coaching the teens about horses allows her to pass her love for the animals on to the next generation.

Hecht, speaking about Kansas’ 4-H horse project, said, “For many who enroll, interest in the project rests in learning about horses and making friends, rather than riding.”

“4-H projects build life skills,” said Hecht, who offered the example of a former Leavenworth County 4-H member enrolled in the horse project, who realized that she had a passion for caring for animals. She is currently studying to become a veterinarian.

More information on educational 4-H programs is available at county and district K-State Research and Extension offices and at www.kansas4h.org.

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K-State Research and Extension is a short name for the Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service, a program designed to generate and distribute useful knowledge for the well-being of Kansans. Supported by county, state, federal and private funds, the program has county Extension offices, experiment fields, area Extension offices and regional research centers statewide. Its headquarters is on the K-State campus, Manhattan.

Story by:
Nancy Peterson
nancyp@oznet.ksu.edu
K-State Research& Extension News