4-H members show off horsemanship skills

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4-H members show off horsemanship skills

Details: Published on Thursday, October 27, 2016

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The 19th annual presentations of the Manitoba 4-H Young Horse Development Project (YHDP) were held Sept. 5, at the Westoba Agricultural Centre of Excellence, in Brandon, Manitoba. The project provides a venue for senior 4-H members to demonstrate their knowledge gained through the 4-H Equine Program, as well as to showcase the stock being bred and raised on Manitoba’s equine ranches.

Each year, interested senior 4-H members (14 years of age by January 1 of the current year) apply to the YHD Project’s Advisory Committee. Upon selection, members are given a list of participating Manitoba Equine Ranching Association (MERA) and Saskatchewan Equine Ranching Association (SERA) ranchers from whom they may purchase a weanling. Prices are pre-set and ranchers receive half of the purchase price; the balance is placed in that year’s Project Enhancement Fund.

The YHD Project involves a two-year commitment and teaches 4-H members valuable life skills about taking responsibility, setting goals, and applying the knowledge gained. Members raise and train their horses with the objective of presenting them as a yearling “in hand” and as a two-year-old “under saddle”. Members receive payouts through their yearling presentations (1/3 of the Enhancement Fund) and through their two-year-old presentations (the remaining 2/3 of the fund); completing their project books and by adhering to the rules and regulations. Formal placings for the presentations are irrelevant. Members receive an Enhancement Fund payout based on their individual efforts, so the experience is self-achieving.

In 2016, five 4-H members exhibited their yearlings, one Appaloosa and four Quarter Horses. They were evaluated on the elements of basic showmanship skills, conditioning of the horses and their abilities to teach their horses to work on a longe line and to load into a trailer. Scores ranged from 149 points to 204 points, out of 260 possible points. The members earned a share of the $700 in the 2015 Enhancement Fund. As a group, they accumulated 872 points, averaging 174.4 each, and will be paid $0.80/point, based on their individual scores. Each yearling presenter received a copy of their evaluation, a tri-coloured neck banner, a Horse Industry Handbook – A Guide to Education, Care and Management, published by the American Youth Horse Council sponsored by the North American Equine Ranching Information Council (NAERIC).

2016 yearling presentations (in order of appearance):

• Stony Ridge Riders member Cali Baker with Dash N Flaxie, bred by Dean and Debbie Fenty, of D5 Performance Horses, Miniota, MB

• Boissevain Boots & Bits member Eileen EagleBears, DZ Fancy Scotch, bred by Kirk and Gail Bridgeman of Bridgeman Land & Livestock, Rapid City, MB

• Minerva 4-H member Katie Ostertag withYou Can Page Him Two, bred by Kelly and Ruby Stuart, of K & R Stuart, Eriksdale, MB.

• Interlake Trailblazers member Michelle Larsen, with Lenas Driftin Leo, bred by Kirk and Gail Bridgeman of Bridgeman Land & Livestock, Rapid City, MB

• Decker Country Riders member Keegan Burt, with Tee Jays Stylish Kid, bred by Greg and Faye Little of Little Valley Quarter Horses, Decker, MB

Two 4-H members presented their two-year-olds, all Quarter Horses under saddle. Each horse and rider was scored based on their individual performance over a predetermined horsemanship pattern. Scores ranged from 197 points to 208 points out of a possible 270 points. The members earned a share of the $933.34 remaining in the 2014 Enhancement Fund. As a group, they accumulated 405 points, averaging 202.5 each, and will be paid $2.30/point based on their individual scores. Each member received a copy of their evaluation, a tri-coloured neck banner, and trophy cooler, sponsored by NAERIC.

Two-year-olds under saddle presentations (in order of appearance):

• Rapid City 4-H Rodeo Club member Daisy McKee, with Flashy Carma, bred by Kirk and Gail Bridgeman of Bridgeman Land & Livestock, Rapid City, MB

• Ethelbert 4–H Horse & Beef Club member Anthony Coffey, with Dont Upset My Style, bred by Kevin and Julie Bridgeman of K & J Bridgeman, Binscarth, MB

4-H member Daisy McKee, 17, is in grade 12 at Elton Collegiate in Forrest and lives near Minnedosa, Manitoba. Daisy presented her Quarter Horse mare, Flashy Carma (Montana) as a yearling in the 2015 Young Horse Development Project presentations. Daisy said, “I think compared to last year, she really loves to work for me, she does even better in class than in practice. I took her to the fair circuit all across Manitoba this summer and showed her in Halter, Showmanship and Western Pleasure to get exposure and experience. I have no plans to sell her, I plan to continue to ride and show her. I actually started her in driving to get her used to mouth cues, without any weight on her back. I’ve been a junior driver of Clydesdales for Neil Jardine of Brookdale, Manitoba. Montana’s been very easy to train, right from the start, due to her quiet disposition and gentle temperament, more important to me than bloodlines.” Daisy has already applied to Lakeland College in Alberta, to take their two-year Animal Health Technician course.

Kirk and Gail Bridgeman, who own and operate Bridgeman Land & Livestock Ltd., at Rapid City, Manitoba, have been equine ranchers for 35 years. They are second generation equine ranchers, as Kirk’s late parents, Ken and Janie Bridgeman were pioneers in the business. Gail said, “We farm about 2,200 acres of grain, hay and pasture and have some commercial cattle. Our breeding operation consists of approximately 150 horses, of which 10 are stallions. Quarter Horses make up 75 per cent and Appaloosas make up 25 per cent of our herd. We have been offering weanlings to 4-H members in the YHD Project since the beginning. We feel it gives young people a chance to learn all about raising a horse. We attend the event every year to see them present their horses. For us, it’s a measure of enjoyment and we feel they are the future of our horse industry. A lot of these members have gone on into the agricultural field. And, a lot of the horses have ongoing careers in barrel racing and roping events.” Two yearlings and one two-year-old were presented at this year’s event from the Bridgeman Land & Livestock’s breeding program.

Dawn Krinke, Office Manager, Manitoba 4-H Council Inc., Brandon, Manitoba said, “We had a total of 2,309 Manitoba 4-H members in 2015-16 and 461 equine projects were undertaken. The YHD Project’s Working Committee manages enrollment in the project, provides the project materials and directly administers the project. The project provides an opportunity for members to establish relations with Manitoba and Saskatchewan equine ranchers and to own and develop a young horse. The members gain advanced skills in selecting, feeding and handling horses, and an increased awareness of the equine industry.”

Lynn Coffey, Chairperson of the YHD Project’s Advisory Committee said, “There were five senior 4-H members approved to select weanlings in 2016. We have a commitment from MERA and SERA ranchers and NAERIC to continue this program through to the 2018 ‘under saddle’ presentations. We are grateful to the Manitoba 4-H Council for sponsoring the fees to cover our project evaluator. We also appreciate the ongoing support of the individual NAERIC-member equine ranchers who offer their weanlings and NAERIC for sponsoring the costs of awards, facilities – including the arena and stabling, post-event press releases, and colour photographs for the members and ranchers.”

The YHD Project’s Advisory Committee consists of: Lynn Coffey, Ethelbert; Amanda Mantik, Ashern; Darlene Dudar and Marsha Dudar, Ethelbert.

For more information regarding the 4-H Young Horse Development Project, and to view photographs of all the 2016 4-H members with their horses visit: www.naeric.org.