Jackson 4-H Buckaroos Shine at 2016 Area A 4-H Horse Show
If you have wandered out Highway 90 West in Jackson County on a Tuesday or Thursday evening over the past several months, no doubt you have noticed dust flying from beneath the covered arena at the Jackson County Ag Center. The dust would be the result of 20 plus 4-H youth and their 4-H club leader, coaches and parents, practicing to compete in this past weekend’s 2016 Area A 4-H Horse Show. Rest assured that on Friday, April 15 and Saturday, April 16 that there was dust mixed with some glitter that could be seen!
Back Row (L-R): Amber Mercer, Ireland Johnson, Warren Loper, Trey Smith, Johnny Stone, Jake Branch, Hardy Mitchell, Kaitlin Sexton, Joel Johnson, Haley Scurlock, Trinity King, Anna Marlow, Autumn Mercer Front Row (L-R): Samone Creamer, Juliette Alday, Zack Edenfield, J.C. Branch, Jenna Hughes, Madison Smith, Faith Mack, Jake Edenfield, Zoey Marlow, Zoey Garnett, Brianna Sexton, Heather Eldridge
Forty-seven 4-H youth from the Panhandle participated in the 2016 Area A 4-H Horse Show that included 18 from Jackson County. That comes out to 38% of the show participants! Club Leader Katricia Edenfield along with her volunteers Michelle Stone and Terry Harris worked tirelessly with these youth to have them ready for this event which paid off with members placing in almost every event from Dressage, to Western Ranch and Pleasure, English classes and Speed Events!
The club also now boasts High Point Champions in Sr. English and Jr. Speed events with the naming of Zack Edenfield as High Point Champion in Jr. Speed and Ireland Johnson as High Point Champion in Sr. English.
Participation in competitive events gives youth an opportunity to develop Mastery which is one of the eight essential elements of positive youth development. Mastery is building knowledge, skills, and attitudes and then demonstrating the competent use of this knowledge and skills by a proficient practitioner. The level of mastery depends on the developmental ability of the youth. The development of mastery is a process over time and the 4-H Horse Project is a shining example of this process.
All youth want to be good at something and Mastery and competence is about developing those skills and abilities that help to build that sense of self-worth. Projects and activities in 4-H are the vehicles that we use to help youth develop mastery and competence. It is important to develop competence because youth derive their sense of self-esteem from “feeling good about doing well” (adapted from Ferrari, 2003).
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