2024 NC State 4-H Hippology & Horsebowl Contests

The 2024 NC State 4-H Hippology Contest will be held March 9 at NCSU. **NEW for 2024, junior individual awards will be divided into 8-10 and 11-13 age categories (no change to junior team awards).**The Rookie division is for youth that have never competed in Hippology and is a great way to introduce new members to this event! Cloverbuds will also have a chance to participate in Hippology! This event will be held from 8:00AM-12:30PM (before the start of Horsebowl at 1:00PM).The entry deadline is February 28!

The 2024 NC State 4-H Horsebowl Contest will also be held on March 9 at NCSU.  Horsebowl will begin at 1:00 PM (after the conclusion of the Hippology Contest). Junior, Senior, and Mixed Division teams that qualified through their District competitions will be eligible to compete.

2024 Eligibility Card Instructions & NC 4-H Horse Program Rules and Regulations Manual

The NC 4-H Horse Program Rules and Regulations Manual has been updated and reflects all the new rules and updates for the 2024 season. If you plan to show or enter any educational contests, please be sure to review all the rules for your particular division or contest. Rule changes and additions are highlighted yellow for your convenience.

The eligibility card procedure will be the same as in 2019-2023. Please consult your local N.C. Cooperative Extension agent to be sure that you are meeting all the requirements to receive your card. Read below for a summary of the steps that need to be followed.

PLEASE NOTE: There is no specific deadline for the completion of the request form. However, youth need to be sure to have all paperwork (including eligibility cards) completed in time to meet entry deadlines for their selected qualifying show. As soon as qualifying show packets are shared with EHH, we will post them on the website at this location: https://equinehusbandry.ces.ncsu.edu/qualifying-horse-show-information/

2024 NC 4-H Horse Program Eligibility Card Standard Operating Procedures

2024 NC 4-H Horse Program Eligibility Card Request Form

2024 Educational Contest & State 4-H Horse Show Sponsorships

The NC 4-H Horse Program is ready to make 2024 another successful and event-packed year! To ensure the growth of the program, and to keep events as affordable as possible, we need sponsors to help support these events.

Educational Event Donors Needed

Six different Horse Educational Events are offered through our program for cloverbuds, juniors, and seniors. Sponsorship levels are numerous and help provide awards for the contest participants, travel expenses for national team travel, and also cover the cost of hosting and managing the events.

If you would like to sponsor one of our events, please complete and return this form: 2024 NC State Educational Contest Sponsorship Opportunities

NC 4-H State Horse Show Sponsorship Opportunities

The NC 4-H State Horse Show will be held July 7-10, 2024 at the James B. Hunt Horse Complex in Raleigh. We will be continuing the exhibitor sponsorship incentive again this year! 4-H’ers that submit completed and paid sponsorships with their State Show Entry form will receive 20% of the sponsorship fees collected off their total show bill. For example, if a 4-H’er turns in $1000 in sponsorships with their entry form, they can deduct $200 off their show fees owed.

2024 NC State 4-H Horse Show Sponsorship Opportunities

Horse Show sponsorships span a wide variety of levels. Division, Reserve Champion, and Major Show Sponsors include their choice of an advertisement in the show program or indoor vendor space (see the above document for details).

2024 Youth Training Clinic

On January 13th, 2024 over 200 4-H'ers, leaders, and parents attended the NCSU Youth Training Clinic to learn more about Horse Judging, Hippology and Horsebowl! 

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at these contests over the next couple of months.

A huge thanks goes out to all our instructors that led sessions throughout the day: Katy Bissinger, EmmaRose Church, Allee Coble, Bryleigh Colbert, Bill Crouse, Samantha Durham, Caitlin Gantt, Olivia Juergens, Savannah Lindsey, Beth Morgan, Stevie Sharum, Cassandra Sigmon, Austen Stinson-Miller, Samantha Taylor, Ruth Vorder Bruegge, Hannah Williams, Graham Zeiders.

This event was sponsored by the Dale Earnhardt Foundation. Visit their site to learn more about this wonderful, non-profit organization.

2024 Achievement Award Applications due March 1

The NC 4-H Horse Program Achievement Awards recognize the accomplishments of 4-H'ers, with a specific focus on horse program achievements that is cumulative beginning with the applicant’s first year in the horse program. Award levels are on a points-based system that groups like activities completed based on the level of involvement and ranks them. (See the application form for specifics on activities/points/levels). 

There are 4 levels of accomplishment that youth can apply to earn annually. Youth can potentially earn more than level (especially the first year they apply). 

• Bronze: 150 points, bronze patch 

• Silver: 300 points, silver patch 

• Gold: 450 points, gold patch 

• Emerald: 700 points, embroidered jacket

For additional details, the application, and a video on how to complete the application, visit this page on the website: https://equinehusbandry.ces.ncsu.edu/forms-popular-links/nc-4-h-horse-program-achievement-awards/

New Version of Trot2Trophy Now Available

Trot2Trophy has recently been revised! Completing the learning activities in this hub will ensure that you have the skills to keep your horse in top-notch shape! The first activity, Anatomy 2.0, allows you to test your knowledge of the inner workings of the horse through a 3D experience that includes a practice quiz to check your understanding. Temperature, Pulse and Respiration (TPR), the second activity, illustrates how to appraise heart rate, temperature, and respiratory rate to determine your horse's health status through augmented reality; make sure you have space for this one, as the model will appear as a life-size horse in your living room. Health Plan, the third activity, is a chatbot activity that allows you to consider various scenarios—such as how to travel with a horse—through the eyes of four equine professionals (veterinarian, nutritionist, NC State extension agent, and farrier). 

Visit this page to get started!

NEW Horse Judging Resource Available

NC State 4-H Horse Judging Contest Practice DVD

New for 2024, the NC 4-H Horse Program is excited to offer a practice horse judging contest DVD that features 10 classes from the 2021, 2022, and 2023 NC State 4-H Horse Judging Contests. In addition to the classes and official placings and cuts, there are sample sets of oral reasons for the classes presented by former NC State 4-H Horse Judging team members.  For scored classes, there are also pictures of completed scorecards.

DVDs are $50.00 each (cash or check or money order made payable to NCSU) and will be available for purchase/pick up at the State Horsebowl and Hippology contests on March 9.  If you will not be in attendance, you can designate another individual to pick it up for you. In order to reserve your copy for pick up, please complete this form.

Inaugural Recreational Riding Rewards Program Applications are due March 1

The Recreational Riding Rewards Program is an annual submission of recreational riding hours logged with an equine partner to earn awards and recognition at the state level. Hours logged follow the rider and may be completed on different horses, either riding or driving. Hours logged must be done on trails, endurance riders, or other organized group rides outside of an arena (fox hunts, beach rides, hunter paces, competitive trail rides, etc.). Arena riding, lesson hours, and horse show hours are not eligible for these awards. Hours logged are cumulative from year to year and will be added over time to achieve the levels of recognition.

When do you apply? 

• Log forms are due March 1, 2024 (for hours that took place from Jan 1, 2023-Dec 31, 2023). 
  

• Awards will be presented at the State 4-H Horse Show in July 2024. If a youth is not present, their award will be mailed to them. 
  

• *For the 2023 application, 4-H’ers may record back hours for 2020-2022. Youth can enter a total number of hours for 2020, 2021, and 2022 on a single line for each year.

Read more and download the log sheet

2024 NC 4-H Horse Program Calendar of Events

The 2024 NC 4-H Horse Program Calendar of Events is available for viewing/download.  The link provided on the webpage is a dynamic link to a Google Sheet that updates in real time. Be sure to periodically check for updates or changes!