New 4-H rules boost participation, diversity

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service this year changed the entry rules for the Texas State 4-H Horse Show to allow more participants to qualify for the show, hoping that this will increase diversity and attendance at the popular event.

This year’s 61st annual Texas State 4-H Horse Show is open to the public from July 23-28 at the Brazos County Expo in Bryan. Typically, more than 350 4-H youth from throughout the state and their family members attend the show.

“The state show is the pinnacle of the 4-H horse project and offers many opportunities to 4-H youth including up to 40 classes of competition, educational programs, scholarships and college preparation opportunities,” said Chelsie Huseman, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horse specialist The most significant change is that participants will now be allowed to show horses they lease, as well as own.

“This is a big change from our previous guidelines that only allowed for horses owned by the exhibitor to be shown,” she said. “However, many 4-H youths reside in more urban areas and do not have the opportunity to keep a horse and therefore must lease them instead. But these youth still provide their horses with care, exercise and other management needs, plus use them to develop their riding skills.”

The second new rule allows participants to qualify for the state show without participating in district shows. The only exception is for the futurity division, which requires district participation facilitated by their county agent to ensure the safety and success of these young horse projects.

Removing the qualification requirement allows district administrators more freedom to develop horse opportunities that more closely fit the needs of participants at their local level.

“This change also alleviates pressure on many active 4-H families who must choose amongst the multitude of activities that are all offered in the month of June, as the district horse shows have been,” Huseman said.

However, she said, district 4-H horse shows will still be an option for competitors to develop their skills as they prepare for the state show.

“This change will help districts develop meaningful engagements with their local 4-H youth in the horse project to prepare them for the state show,” said Huseman. “These new rules will help to ensure more 4-H’ers have an opportunity to participate, and we are looking forward to seeing how these changes expand the reach and opportunities available to 4-H youth across Texas.”

The Texas State 4-H Horse Show is presented by Texas 4-H, a youth development organization administered by AgriLife Extension. Annually, more than 550,000 youth ages 8-18 are involved in a variety of 4-H youth development experiences.