Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to all!  I hope you are getting ready to spend time with your family and friends during the holiday season.  Herre's hoping for some snow for those of you who enjoy winter sports and activities!

Team Horse Power at American Youth Horse Council Symposium

American Youth Horse Council

It is scheduled in Herndon, VA.  The dates are March 23-25, 2012.  We are encouraging any Team Horse Power members who are interested, to make plans to attend.  Additionally, we will be selecting 2 members from the east and 2 members from the west to assist with, and participate in a presentation.    For more information about the symposium go to http://www.ayhc.com/

The symposium is an incredible educational experience for all.  Folks from various youth equine organizations will be in attendance.  Some of those organizations include 4-H, Pony Club, High School Rodeo, and others.  If you have the opportunity and the desire, this is a program worth making the effort to attend!

McKean County 2011

Dakota going over the horsemanship pattern.

In the morning we split up into two groups. Carissa and Dakota worked with the riders on handling skills, while Lew and I worked with them on riding skills. In the afternoon we helped with their Equine Challenge. I had a lot of fun working with everyone.

McKean County

A big thanks to Dakota, Laurel, and Carissa for their help in McKean County on Saturday October 8th.  Everyone was thrilled to have Team Horse Power present to help McKean members work on their horsemanship skills.  Team Horse Power alumni Rachel Speaker was also there!  She is now a freshman at Findlay. 

Team members spent the day, from 9-4 at the fairgrounds.  They were almost late because of Laurel's gps, or was it Carissa's phone?  Not sure, but they made it!

In the afternoon the team assisted in the operation of the McKean County Equine Challenge.  This is a fundraiser for the horse program.  Dakota created patterns for the Horsemanship and Showmanship classes,  Carissa operated the gate, and Laurel helped with ring crew etc.  Tahnks so much to the 3 of you.  Good job!!

Past, Present and Future

Hello All!  Congrats to all of the THP members who have recently passed any of the horsemanship skills levels.  I know there are several of you.  If you have a chance to give us some details, that would be great!!  Just post them here or on the facebook page.

This past weekend was the Pennsylvania 4-H Competitive Trail Ride, als known as the Keystone Ride.  There were at least a couple of THP members riding.  And they finished very respectably!!  Good job!

October 8th, Laurel, Dakota, Carissa and I are going to McKean County to help members there with their horsemanship skills.  It will be good to spend the day there!

Rapidly approaching is the state horse show.  Congratulations to those of you who qualified.  Why don't you share a bit about that on the blog?  We would love to hear about your trials and tribulations.  Also, I hope you all are getting ready to spend some time at the THP booth or in the round pen at the show.  We are planning to help other 4-H members and their brothers and sisters make their own Mop Ponies.  Plan to bring yours with you so they can see some models!

Looking forward to spending some time with you all at the show!!

Fall Is Coming!!

I'm sure most of you are back in school now, whether at home or in a building somewhere.  Hope you are happy to be there!  Also probably getting ready for district horse shows, or in some cases, done with districts.  Hope you did well or will do well.  Remember what counts is that you did your best job, and you were good sports about it.

Please think about activities we can use at the State Horse Show.  We expect to have you manning the Team Horse Power booth, do clinics in the round pen, and just generally pass the word about Team Horse Power, and activities you ahve been involved in this year.

Again, hope you enjoy this school year!!

Ag Progress Days

This is some of the team meambers from Ag Progress Days.

Thanks!

Thank you to the Team Horse Power members who took time to help out at the Ag Progress Days demo yesterday!  The drill team came together really well.  Also, the time you spent at the booth answering questions and making stick ponies is appreciated!

All THP members, please start thinking about ideas for clinics and demonstrations that we can do at the State show, in the Round Pen.  Any thoughts you have, please send along to Bethany or myself.  We are hoping that we can have as many of you do demonstrations as possible.  We will also be manning a booth at the Round Pen, so be prepared to put some time in there as well.

Thanks again for the help yesterday!

APD

Headed to Ag Progress Days tomorrow, bright and early.  Looking forward to working with THP members from the east and the west.  Stick Horse Drill Team demo, amongst other demos.  What fun!!  See y'all tomorrow!!

Schuylkill County - "On the Road to Horsemanship Skills"

Today, August 2nd, I helped at an On the Road to Horsemanship Skills clinic at the Schuylkill County Fairgrounds. We had four stations and some rest stops for the 4-Hers to participate in. My station was on how to walk into a stall, how to catch or release a horse, and how to tie safety knots. Many of the kids were already very knowledgeable on how to safely handle horses, but some learned more efficient and safer ways to do things with their horse. Everyone seemed to learn or refresh their memory on many horsemanship skills. It was a great day and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to assist with this wonderful learning experience for the Schuylkill County 4-H members.

Kristen Folk

State Days and Production Shows

Hi All!  It was good to see several THP members at the Level 3-4 Examiner's Training a couple of weeks ago at the Ag Arena.  Hope it was beneficial to your education about the Horsemanship Skills program!

I know that many of you are at State Days now, participating in a variety of activities.  Good luck to all.

Next week starts Regional Production Show week.  Erie County is hosting the Northwest show.  Beaver County will be hosting the Southwest show.  I plan to help out at these shows, so hope to see some of you there.  I hope you are all having a good July, and staying busy.  Please keep us posted on the blog about any events you attend, horse show results, and of course, any horsemanship skills programs you present!  And watch for information that will be out shortly about the program we will present at Ag Progress Days!

Level 3-4 Horsemanship Skills Examiner Training

Team Horse Power members are invited to participate as observers at the upcoming 3-4 examiners training.  This is an outstanding opportunity to see the level 3 and 4 skills performed.  There will be some talented demonstrator riders at the Ag Arena to help demonstrate the skills.  If you have the date and time available, and are a team member, this is training you don't want to miss!  So contact Bethany or myself asap if you are able to attend.  If you have already let me know, I have you on the list.  Don't miss out!

Hope summer is treating everyone well.  Kelsey Dolan, team member in the west is recovering from a kick.  Send your best wishes to Kelsey. 

Good luck in your upcoming shows and endeavors!  Please help to keep everyone up to date on your activities!

June 13th

On June 14Th we went to Mercer county and worked on handling skills. There were about 20 students there. The group I worked with decided to put some of the skills into a Showmanship pattern. We also did some mock testing. I learned a couple new ways to do quick release knots. I had a lot of fun working with everyone there.

Horsemanship, What Is It?

Our job as Team Horse Power members entails us to work with kids on a program under the name of "Horsemanship Skills". But what really is horsemanship? And how can we apply it to what we teach and what we learn?

Horsemanship is the art or practice of riding on horseback.

This definition has many truths within. Horsemanship is an art, it takes time and skill, and along with this, a lot of practice. So, this makes the practice part of the definition essential too. It is so vital that we as THP membes have these skills mastered in order to go about teaching them. By having these mastered it helps us learn the other skills as well. Horsemanship is not about who brings in the most blue ribbons or who has the most expensive horse, it is about the art of riding and how we apply/teach others with the knowledge that we have gained.

Westmoreland Co. Multi County Horse Camp

This coming week, June 14-17 is the time of the year when Westmoreland County hosts their annual horse and pony camp. This camp offers many activities such as: riding your horse, making new friends, creating crafts to take home, and a variety of demonstrations. Riders from the Western half of the Pennsylvania come to Westmoreland Fair Grounds to join in the experience. When the campers arrive they soon find themsevles surrounded by the theme of the camp and the unkonwn people that will soon become a friend. This camp is not only known for the experience but, the food. Camp if known for the delicious food! This camp has the opportunity to teach a young rider the proper way to feed their horse, clean their horse's stall, work as a team, and handle their horse properly. When a returning camper enters the barn they understand what stable managment is though, the new campers have no idea. Stable managment is when the campers and counselors are graded on: how clean the stalls are, how clean the isle way is, are the horse's doors latched, is the campers tack clean, and several more. This may seem to be alot to do but, at the end of the week the group's total points are added up and they are given awards. Not only do the campers have the satisfaction of making it to the end of the week but, small prizes are given accordingly to the placing groups. This is Westmoreland Co. Multi County Horse Camp Coloring Your World so, where are you?

This past weekend a few members of Team Horse Power visited Jefferson County for a Horsemanship Skill clinic. There were a lot of young kids, and they were anxious to learn how to better their skills. As the day progressed, the skills were being demostrated and taught. Skills from Level 1 and Level 2 were brought up, but it mostly depended on the person you were working one-on-one with. I think everyone learned a lot! At the end of the day most kids admitted to having little knowledge of the skills before the clinic, but they were now test ready thanks to Team Horse Power! Teaching in any situation is always a learning experiance for the students, a well as the teachers. We hope everybody had fun at Jefferson, and hopes them the best of luck when testing their skills!

Jefferson County

Team Horse Power members from the west are looking forward to spending time with Jefferson County 4-h members this saturday, June 4th at the Jefferson County fairgrounds.  The plan is to assist members in learning and mastering skills necessary to test for levels one and two for the Horsemanship Skills program.  We will be helping them with both riding and handling skills.  What better way to spend a Saturday than assisting other 4-H members with their horses!!  See you all there!

East Phase II Training - Clinton County Horse Camp

Team Horse Power East had their Phase II training on May 14 and 15, 2011 at Clinton County Horse Camp, and a great time was had by all. On Saturday, we did a "On the Road to Horsemanship Skills" program with several groups of very excited young 4-Hers, who were an absolute pleasure to work with as they were so eager to learn. (Pictured to the right is me and Kristen's Rest Stop: leading, turning, backing, and grooming.) We also practiced some Level 1 and 2 Horsemanship skills undersaddle where me and several others THP members with horses there got to ride parts of the test to help determine what we would consider mastery of the skill (passing) and what we would have to retest. After fine-tuning our lesson plans, we watched a movie and bonded. Sunday's day consisted of organizational stuff and the final elements of training. It was a very educational weekend and I am so glad I had the chance to attend! A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped make this program run smoothly and offered their time and knowledge to make us better. I look forward to putting to use many of the things we learned as we begin to do our duties as Team Horse Power members.

Bedford County Horse Camp

Hi everyone,

This past weekend some members from Team Horse Power West helped with Bedford County horse camp by using the "On the Road to the Horsemanship Skills" program. The station I was in charge of was "Turning while Walking". You may think that this skill is a piece of cake, however there are many small things that alot of riders need to improve on. For example, many riders tend to look down when they are asking their horse to turn out of habit. Remember, you need to have your eyes looking ahead so you are aware of your surroundings! The riders enjoyed each of the different booths and I can't wait to use this program again as a teaching tool.

District 7 Camp

Thanks to all of the THP members who participated in the "On the Road to Horsemanship Skills" game on Saturday.  I thought everything went very well, thanks to you.  And we didn't even get soaked!  I heard all positive comments Saturday evening, and on Sunday.  If you all have any suggestions or thoughts on improving things, please send them along in your summaries.

District 7 Camp-Bedford County

Team Horse Power from the west is getting ready to "play " at District 7 Camp this weekend.  There will be 8 team members there, along with Lyndsey Androstic and myself.  We are anticipating roughly 65 members to work through the riding phase of "On the Road to Horsemanship Skills".  It will be a busy but rewarding day!  After this weekend, we will be looking for some posts from team members to let you know how things went.  So we are off on our first big adventure for the season! 

Crooked Creek Weekend-Phase II

A very successful weekend for the THP West members at our Phase II training!  As usual, not enough time to accomplish all that needed to be covered!  We did manage to find time to watch the Derby.  Everyone had the opportunity to cheer on their favorites.  Mine did not win:(  Maybe next year.  We have 8 team members planning to attend the District 7 Horse Camp this coming Saturday in Bedford County.  We are using the "On the Road to Horsemanship Skills" riding curriculum.  There are an estimated 60-65 4-H horse members expected to participate.  I am sure a good time will be had by all.  Looking forward to seeing everyone in the district 7 area.
Thanks to Donna and Jason Zang, Suzanne Boarts, Joann Logan, and Lyndsey Androstic for their help this past weekend.  It would be overwhelming without their help!  We also got to celebrate Lauren Androstic's birthday on Sunday, as well as Mother's Day.

THP West-Phase II Training

Congratulations everyone for taking the next step in the training process.  Hope you all have a great weekend! 

THP West, whatever you do this weekend, PLEASE keep Lew away from Peanut Butter and Jelly!

Bethany

Team Horse Power West

This weekend at the Crooked Creek Horse Park the Team Horse Power West will have the phase II training, getting members ready to participate in clinics, camps, and events across western Pennsylvania.  It is going to be a busy weekend, with lots to be accomplished!  See you there!