Kane team makes mark at Illinois 4-H Horse Bowl
Academic teams have their scholar bowls; 4-H equine enthusiasts have their horse bowls. The Illinois 4-H Horse Bowl state contest was held April 13 on the University of Illinois campus with more than 70 youth participating.
The event runs much like a scholar bowl except teams buzz in with answers to a wide range of horse industry questions, said University of Illinois Livestock Extension Educator Dan Jennings.
Months of work go in to preparing youth for the contest, Jennings said. State contestants have earned the right to compete by first placing high in regional contests throughout the state. Though youth compete as teams, their answers during each round of the quiz bowl also count toward individual scores.
Teams earn the right to continue advancing throughout the day by winning their preliminary heats. A final round robin contest of four teams determines the winning group. The 4-H team from Knox County took the top win in the senior division for youth 14 years of age and older; and Edwards County was the top team in the junior division.
Other finalists in the senior division included Union-Edwards counties, second; Kane County, third; and Mercer County, fourth. In the junior division, finalists included Mercer County, second; Kane County, third; and Knox County, fourth.
The top 10 individuals in the senior division included Kane County's Madde Klinkey, St. Charles, first; Erin Hayes, Mercer County, second; DuPage County's Nora James of Glen Ellyn, third; Emily Shilling, Union-Edwards counties, fourth; Kane County's Hannah Wallace of Sugar Grove, fifth; DuPage County's Aubrey Sieve of Lisle, sixth; Kassie Bunch, Union-Edwards counties, seventh; Kaylyn Hall, Knox-Warren counties, eighth; Lauren Cisna, Knox-Warren counties, ninth; and Rylee McKinney, Shelby County, 10th.
The top 10 individuals in the junior division included Sophi Ballard, Edwards County, first; Jenna Cisna, Knox County, second; Kane County's Gwen Klinkey of St. Charles, third; Katie Hoffman, Carroll County, fourth; DuPage County's Abby Histed, DuPage County, fifth; Bethany Zmuda, Mercer County, sixth; Audrey DeRossett, Union County, seventh; Andrew Wiedenmann, Mercer County, eighth; Kane County's Elena Chapa of Maple Park, ninth; and Kendall County's Olivia Merrigan of Minooka, 10th.
It's Hip to Earn Hippology Honors.
Hippology. It's not a word that rolls off the tongue easily, nor is it easy to excel at, but for many 4-H members in Illinois, hippology is a year-long focus of intense study and work.
Hippology is an individual competition made up of a series of horse knowledge tests. Members often meet together and study a wide range of equine information, from nutrition and health to breeding and management. Study guides help them focus their learning, and when they find something that they don't know, they research the answer.
The Illinois State 4-H Hippology Contest was held April 13 on the University of Illinois campus with nearly 100 youth participating, Jennings said.
The top 10 winners in the senior division included Natalie Shaw, Carroll County, first; Emily Shilling, Edwards County, second; Courtney Wiedenmann, Mercer County, third; Renee Ellegood, Monroe County, fourth; Sieve, fifth; Kiersten Pratt, Bureau County, sixth; Josa Comstock, McHenry County, seventh; Kane County's Brittany McCullough of St. Charles, eighth; Maddie Henderson, Clinton County, ninth; and Katie Bagwell, Clark County, 10th.
The top 10 winners in the intermediate division included Audrey DeRossett, Union county, first; Jessica Hall, Warren County, second; Sophi Ballard, Edwards County, third; Bethany Zmuda, Mercer County, fourth; Kaiti Collins, Carroll County, fifth; Lydia Kaufman, Union County, sixth; Kane County's Madde Klinkey of St. Charles, seventh; Katelyn Hamilton, Randolph County, eighth; Lauren Cisna, Knox County, ninth; and Faith Barringer, Union County, 10th.
The top 10 winners in the junior division included Olivia Charles, Carroll County, first; Paige Bennett, Tazewell County, second; Caelyn Nelson, Edwards County, third; Kendall County's Augie Staudacher of Yorkville, fourth; Samantha Merrigan, Kendall County, fifth; Kylee Furbeck, Sangamon County, sixth; Ruth Ruhl, Logan County, seventh; Kendall County's Delaney Fisher of Yorkville, eighth; Kane County's Grace Feuerbom of Batavia, ninth; and Savannah L. Meadows, Union County, 10th.
The Illinois 4-H Horse Bowl and Hippology program is organized by Equine Extension Specialist Debra Hagstrom. Members earned the right to advance to state through high placing in regional contests throughout the state.
4-H is part of University of Illinois Extension. It is a community of young people across America learning leadership, citizenship, and life skills. For more information on the 4-H program in your county, visit web.extension.illinois.edu/dkk/.
Illinois 4-H strives to help youth learn skills for living. University of Illinois Extension provides 4-H programs in every county in Illinois. Illinois 4-H aims to impact the lives of 200,000 youth each year through sustained learning clubs and groups and short-term programming.