Region 2 Youth Report - 2018

To the Region 2 Board of Directors,

The youth group had continued success in horse judging at US Nationals in Tulsa in 2018. The team won first place in performance judging and fifth high team in reasons this year. AHA ran their first annual hippology contest this year in Tulsa and our kids were able to take part in that along with the judging contest. The team won first in the horse judging section of the hippology contest. The team also won different individual honors. There was a large parade with the teams and their banners, so the girls were able to carry the Region 2 banner through the main ring between the finals classes on Saturday afternoon.

The horse judging team traveled twice to Arizona for judging practices. We also had a small judging contest at the Region 2 barbecue in Somis.
We plan to conduct another youth run horse show as a fundraiser this year. The fun show in 2018 earned approximately $1500. The show was completely managed and run by the youth including hiring the judge and purchasing ribbons. The youth took on the roles of show manager, announcer, show secretary, gate keeper, and more! It was a fantastic opportunity to earn money for their Region 2 activities and learn what goes into having a successful show. This may be the only youth group to have done this type of fundraiser and have a youth run show. We are proud of their efforts in this.

This year we would also like to have t-shirts made so the Region 2 youth can promote themselves and wear them to shows and clinics and to the judging and hippology events.

Our Region 2 Youth Board for 2019 will be:

President- Natalie Zavala
Vice President- Jacki Thacker
Secretary- Kate Day
Treasurer- Emily Holden

We look forward to expanding and growing the youth programming with the support and encouragement of the directors from Region 2.

With appreciation,
Meaghan Shaffer

Region 2 Youth Judging Team at the 2017 U.S. Nationals!

Youth News: January 2017

Fifteen of the Region 2 youth had a wonderful field trip to Santa Ynez on Jan 7. We enjoyed an incredible two-hour tour at Alamo Pintado, a visit to Quicksilver Miniature Horse Ranch, and then to see the Miniature Spotted Donkeys. We finally headed over to Om El Arabian for a viewing of the film, Finding Fortune.

We dined at the taco truck, visited the beautiful horses, and sat on hay bales in the hub of the barn to watch the movie. A thunder and lightning event added to the evening’s excitement. It was a fantastic day and the kids really learned a lot.

The Region 2 youth group has been actively planning for 2017 events. We are working to expand the youth judging teams this year and send a second team to Tulsa. There are many trainings planned to ensure preparedness for these events. The first judging contest will be in April at Cal Poly Pomona alongside 4-H and FFA students. A second judging contest will be held in the summer. These will be the qualifiers for the final 7 youth to attend Tulsa. Anyone in the Region 2 area are welcome to attend and compete at these events and may also go to the free trainings.

Two hippology contests will take place this year as well. These are open to any youth who wish to participate. The first contest will be held in Santa Barbara at the Spring qualifier show in May and the second contest will take place at the Region 2 Championship show in June. We’re looking forward to growing the participation and have wonderful prizes and several age categories.

This is a great program for the youth who love to study, learn and read about horses. They don’t need to own horses to participate. Kids interested in these contests should contact Meaghan for more details.

In order to help fund the activities, the youth will be working at the shows, assisting with ribbons and gates. The youth will also be running carnival games for the youngsters at the Region 2 Championship show along with holding a large silent auction on the weekend, and holding stick horse races.

Please consider donating items for the silent auction and participating in the games, to help the kids earn their way to Tulsa!

Finally, the youth are developing their own Board of Directors! We are pleased to have Natalie Zavala in her second term of Youth Director, Danielle Garcia as Vice Director, Emily Holden as Secretary, Sophia Hoxworth as Treasurer, and Kate Day as Historian.

We look forward to mentoring these ambitious teens.
We are looking forward to a fun filled year!

Submitted by:
Meaghan Shaffer
Region 2 Youth Director
meaghan8380@gmail.com