South Carolina 4-H’ers excel at All American Quarter Horse Congress

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Five South Carolina 4-H’ers and their coaches brought a bounty back to the Palmetto State from the largest single-breed horse show in the world: two large trophies and 37 medals.

Aliza Allison (Lexington), Hartley Grant (Anderson), Marie Elizabeth Grant (Anderson), Rebekah Floyd (Greenwood) and Langley Vernon (Anderson) competed in educational contests at the 2019 All American Quarter Horse Congress, which attracts more than 650,000 people to the Columbus, Ohio, area and generates $409 million each year.

The team of Allison, Hartley Grant, Marie Elizabeth Grant, Floyd and Vernon took first place on Oct. 15 in the Horse Bowl Contest, a quiz bowl contest where participants are asked questions about horses and horse-related topics.

“Quick thinking was a must in this contest as youth activate their electronic buzzer before their opponent in order to answer the question and score points,” said Katie Shaw, coach and South Carolina 4-H Youth development specialist. “Of course, our young people also demonstrated a great command of knowledge about horses and related topics in order to achieve the overall championship in this contest.”

Allison, Hartley Grant, Marie Elizabeth Grant and Vernon continued to shine the following day in the Hippology Contest, again garnering the championship. Hippology is the study of horses and the contest tests participants’ knowledge of horse and horse-related items from any aspect of the horse industry.

Contest elements included a written exam, horse judging, identification of items and/or their use, and solving problems and presenting the solution. The team was also awarded individual and team phase awards.

“The youth are excited for their success at this national contest and look forward to competing in more horse-related educational contest,” Shaw said. “This event really exemplifies the 4-H mission of using experiential learning experience to empower young people to shine, and there’s no doubt that our 4-H’ers on the South Carolina team were excited to use their skills and knowledge to respond to the challenge of competing on a national stage.”

For more information on how to get involved in these or other 4-H Horse Project activities visit http://www.clemson.edu/4h/horse or contact your local Clemson Extension office.

Awards won by the team include:

Horse Bowl Contest

• First Place Team
• Fourth Place Individual —Rebekah Floyd
• Fifth Place Individual — Hartley Grant
• 10th Place Individual — Marie Elizabeth Grant

Hippology Contest

• First Place Team
• First Place Overall Individual — Hartley Grant
• Second Place Overall Individual — Aliza Allison
• Third Place Overall Individual — Marie Elizabeth Grant

Exam Phase

• First Place Team
• First Place Individual — Hartley Grant
• Third Place Individual — Marie Elizabeth Grant
• Seventh Place Individual —Aliza Allison

Station Phase

• First Place Team
• First Place Individual —Aliza Allison
• Fourth Place Individual — Hartley Grant

Horse Judging Phase

• Second Place Team
• First Place Individual — Marie Elizabeth Grant

Team Problem

Fourth Place Team