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
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