2012 Pennsylvania State 4-H horse Show

Well, the 2012 state horse show is now over.  The weather this year was much improved from last year, though certainly overshadowed byt the looming threat of Sandy.  My heart goes out to those who were devastated by Sandy's wrath.

I think the show was a success!  Congratulations to the Team Horse Power members who showed.  I know many of you were very successful!  Congrats also to all of the other 4-H members across the state on their successes and accomplishments!  You should all be very proud!

It would be great to see some pictures and videos posted here on the blog, from the show,and from any other 4-H activities you may have been invloved in this year. It would also be nice to hear some of your stories from the show.

It seems the booth was well received again this year.  Though I didn't get to spend much time there, I understand there was a nice turn out for the clinics and programs in the "Round Pen".  Thanks to all, for the time and effort you put in helping out!

State Show

Looking forward to seeing everyone next week at the horse show!  Hope you all have your horses ready, your trailers packed, and yourself excited and well rested!!  I know that, as much fun as the show is, I come home ready to sleep for 2 days!  See you next week!

Pennsylvania State 4-H Horse Show

Well, the Keystone Ride is done, quite successfully I might add.  Now it is time to gear up for the state show!  I know that several of the Team Horse Power members have qualified for the show, and are getting ready, with lots of practice!  Remember, we will have a Team Horse Power booth at the show.  Looking forward to seeing 4-H horse members from across the state!  I would really enjoy knowing who is qualified for what classes.  So if you are on the  blog, please let us know where we will see you showing at the end of October!  Good luck to all, and see you soon!

Ag Progress Days

Thanks to all of the Team Horse Power members who came and helped out at Ag Progress Days.  We found new homes for 73 Mop Ponies!!  That is alot of happy kids:)  You all were great!  We appreciate when any of you take time from your schedules to help out at these functions. Again, thank you!!

I believe the next endeavour for Team Horse Power is the state horse show.  Please put your thinking caps on, as to possible clinics at the Round Pen!  One plan will be to have the 2nd Annual Mop Pony Classic!  If anyone is up to the task, we will need a pattern designed for use at the Classic.  Remember, it must be able to be ridden on a Mop Pony!  Send your patterns to Bethany and myself.

Other ideas are clinics with mini's.  If you are bringing your mini to the show, please let us know if you would like to involve it in a clinic.  Perhaps in hand trail, or maybe how to put a harness on a mini, including parts of the harness, etc.

We are planning to do another Trail clinic this year.  That was very well received last year, and we hope it will go as well again this year.

Hope all of you are doing well at your round ups, and at your district shows!  Keep blogging, it is a great place to keep us informed how your shows are going!  Thanks!

Enjoy The Rest Of Summer

I hope everyone is enjoying their last couple weeks of summer, and getting the chance to ride a lot! Don't forget your horsemanship skills so that you can remain safe while working with your horse! Good luck to everyone preparing for their District horse show!

Berks County On the Road to Horsemanship Skills

Come join Team Horse Power for "On the Road to Horsemanship Skills" at Berks County 4-H Center on Tuesday, July 31! The clinic starts at 5 PM and should be a fun learning opportunity. For more information, contact Bethany Bickel at blb218@psu.edu.

Also, don't forget to visit Team Horse Power's booth or catch our presentation at Ag Progress Days (http://agsci.psu.edu/apd) August 16-18!

Warren

Warren County

Warren County

Warren County Camp Giddy Up Go!
I had a lot of fun during the day. We split into two groups; Laurel and Carissa did handling and Lew and I did riding skills. We all supervised and helped the kids saddle their horses and then split into our groups. We checked their equipment to make sure it was all safe. Then Lew and I did riding skills with the kids and had them weave cones in the center of the arena. We made mop ponies during lunch so the horseless kids would have some fun and could use the ponies to practice their skills on. Everyone had a lot of fun during the program. I think everything went smoothly but next time we should bring more mop ponies because all of the kids wanted to make one.

Distric VII Camp-Bedford

Thanks to Paige, Laurel, and Leah for traveling to Bedford to help at the District VII camp!!  There were 53 campers and another 25 counselors and adult volunteers there.  The team members assisted in teaching level 1 and 2 skills during the morning, and a variety of activities in the afternoon, including leg wrapping, parts of the horse, and lungeing in the afternoon.  Their assistance is always appreciated in District 7.  Thanks for helping out!!

The next event I have scheduled with Team Horse Power help,  is a weekend in Elk County.  I am looking forward to working with Alexis, Laurel, Fran, Leah, and Carissa.  We will be working with members on handling and riding skills.  The date for Elk County is June 9th.  I am looking forward to tent camping for the weekend!!

Camp Giddy Up Go!!

Camp Giddy Up Go in Warren County was very successful this past Saturday.  Thanks Laurel, Carissa, and Angela for your assistance!  You did a great job:)

There were 42 participants, with 8 of them being horseless!  We made mop ponies with the horseless members before lunch.  Several of the participants who had horses there were wishing they could make mop ponies as well.

During the riding sessions, we worked on basic riding skills, discussing how correct position and correct use of aids will get the best performance from your horse, regardless of your discipline.

Everyone seemed to learn a lot, and had a good time!!  Thanks Warren County for having us!!!!

Belated Birthday Greetings

Yesterday was Lauren Androstic's birthday!!  Happy Birthday Lauren!!!

Camp Giddy Up Go

I am looking forward to spending this Saturday, May 12th in Warren County at the Camp Giddy Up Go!!  This will be my first time helping out with this program.  Coming to camp as well are Team Horse Power members, Laurel, Carissa, Angela, and Leah.  It will be great to have them helping the youth with their riding and handling abilities at the camp.  The weather is predicted to be sunny on Saturday.  What more could we ask for?  Horses, kids, and sunshine:)  Sounds like a great day!

This past Sunday I spent the day with 30 members of the McKean County 4-H horse program.  We worked on the ground, with everyone learning to take their horses pulse and respiration.  Also temperature.  And we demonstrated how to check capillary refill and do a skin pinch test to determine possible dehydration.  After this, we watched a video about Competitive Trail Riding.  After lunch, we set up some obstacles in the ring that you would see in a Trail class.  Several of the riders worked on opening and closing a rope gate, schooling their horse to cross a wooden bridge, and getting their horse to go into and back out of a dog leg.  Also the riders were able to go on a trail ride in several small groups.  What a great way to spend a sunny Sunday!!

Happy May!!

We have now entered the month of May!  This is what I think of as the start of summer.  Outdoor horse shows are starting to take place, horses are mostly shed out.  If you haven't been riding all winter, you are now starting to get your horse fit for clinics, shows, trail rides, and whatever else you participate in.  In fairness to your horse, be sure you put the time into conditioning, and don't start riding like they are as fit as they might have been at the end of the last season.  For them to give you their best, you have to have them ready to go.
Good luck at your shows and competitions this month and this summer.  Enjoy your time spent with your horse and with your horse friends! 

Summer

As summer is approaching you will start riding and working with your horse more. As you work with your horse remember to keep you and your horses safety in mind.

Team Horse Power Visits Clarion County

On Saturday April 21st, 3 of the Team Horse Power members visited Clarion County to help some 4-H members improve their skills and develop skills they are trying to learn.  Fran, Leah, and Alexis took time from their busy weekend to come and help Lew with the presentation.  The weather was quite threatening all day, but didn't deter our efforts!  Though we all got a little wet, we didn't end up soaked.  We rode in the morning, had a nice lunch, and then worked on handling skills , under roof, in the afternoon.  All of the youth seemed to grasp some new knowledge.  Can't wait to see them again!

How To Videos of Horsemanship Skills

If you click on this link you will find videos of some of the PA Horsemanship Skills videos.  Please take a look!

PA4HHorse - YouTube

Weekend of April 14-15 2012

Paige Henry and Ingrid Boarts are going to be busy this weekend, starting to fulfill commitments to the Team Horse Power.  On Saturday Paige and I are heading to Fulton County, to Lori Glazier's farm.  We are going to be running an "On the Road to Horsemanship Skills" game for the Fulton County horse club members,a s well as a couple from Somerset County.  There are 19 members scheduled to participate!

On Sunday Ingrid is meeting me at the Washington County fairgrounds to assist me in conducting an Examiners training for the Horsemanship Skills level 1-2 program.  We will be working with 17 volunteers, leaders, and educators to evaluate their knowledge and to see whether they have what it takes to become and examiner.

Next weekend several of us are headed to Clarion County to help 4-H horse club members there in learning about the horsemanhsip skills program, and to assist them in skills they may not yet have mastered!  So come and help us out!

New Team Horse Power Member

As an advocate of horses and competing, Team Horse Power is an exceptional program for teaching young riders and horse lovers safety skills and riding skills. As an new member to the Team Horse Power program I am excited to teach and lead young riders to the proper techniques and skills that help build a strong future with horses and riding. Being part of a great group of young adults that want to teach and expand the knowledge we have to inexperienced riders and horse lovers is inspiring to be more in life. I am so excited to be apart of teaching and leading 4-H horse members new to the Horsemanship Skills over the next year. What Penn State offers for 4-H horse members is growing in positive learning helps riders alike understand why this program is needed: safety of horse advocates throughout their life. -Emily

Starting Off The New Year!

When the weather gets warm, all I can think about is riding! As we come close to the beginning of show season and summer, we start preparing for hopefully another successful year as Team Horse Power. As a team, we begin our third year of promoting the Pennsylvania Horsemanship Skills. During the winter, 4-H'ers tend to get rusty on their horsemanship skills. As a member of THP, it is my job to help kids in my club, county, and outside counties by refreshing the horsemanship skills to them, or by introducing the importance of the skills to people who are unfamiliar with the program. As we travel from different counties, camps, and clinics, we hope to reach out to as many youth and adults as possible with the Horsemanship Skills. As a Level 2 Horsemanship Skills achiever, I can't stress enough how important and helpful the skills are to a equestrians everyday life at the stables or at the show! Horses are unpredictable, and being prepared for every situation is an essential element for a safe experience with your furry friend! I am excited for another year with THP and I look forward to spreading the Horsemanship Skills across Pennsylvania for the third year!

Clinton County Kickoff

In January, the Clinton County Horse Program held a Kickoff to start off the year at the Clinton County Extension office.  I was fortunate enough to get 5 minutes to talk about Team Horse Power.  Alexis Lingenfelter and I were the only Team Horse Power members in the audience, however I didn't know Alexis was going to be there, so I had it all planned out that I would speak by myself.  Halfway through my speech though, I was running out of ideas to talk about and I was looking for a little help.  Luckily, Alexis was there to help out, adding input of her own, and generally saving the day (like always).  Thanks to Alexis for helping out!

~Joey

Clarion County Horsemanship Clinic

Hello fellow horse people. Enjoying the spring weather? Need some help with polishing your horsemanship skills? Come to Clarion County Horsemanship Skills Clinic April 21st. Team Horse Power will be there teaching Level One skills. We will be helping perfect your skills and help you get ready to test. We will be teaching handling and riding skills. The handling skills are on the ground; some examples of the handling skills are leading, tying, and grooming. The riding skills include circles, walking, and trotting. Don't forget your helmet! Hopefully we will see you there! ~Angela

AYHC

Recently I had the opportunity to attend the American Youth Horse Council symposium in Virginia. Me and four other members plus our advisors put on a presentation to inform other horse lovers from all over the country about Team Horse Power. Our presentation went over really well, we were able to do two hands on activities with the group to showcase our abilities. The mop ponies that we made were a hit, we even gave away a few to the crowd! Not only were we there to give the presentation but we also got to attend many workshops that furthered our horsey knowledge. We actually got to see a horse work on a treadmill and learned some health facts! The symposium beneficial towards furthering my horse knowledge, but it was great because we were able to expose people to Team Horse Power from all over the country, even Alaska!!

Level 1-2 Road to Horsemanship Skills

Currently, in some counties of Pennsylvania, equine based 4H clubs are making testing for Horsemanship Skills Levels 1-2 mandatory. In Alleghany county, it is mandatory to have passed Level 1 before showing at the county horse show. Whithin these Levels, you are required to perform basic horsemanship skills that are excuted smoothly, properly and safely. Team Horse Power is a team of elite youths that have passed Levels 1-2. Team Horsepower will be holding demonstrations and clinics around the state. We will be working on improving and teaching other members the skills. A tecnique we have found to be very effective and educational is the "Road to Horsmanship Skills" program. In this program we use stations called "road blocks" & "rest stops" where groups of three or four kids practice individual skills with a member of our team. This allows us to work with many members on an idividual basis. This program can be done on horses or on our famous mop ponies. Keep on the lookout for one of our "Road to Horsemanship Skills" in a county near you!

Team Horse Power At The AYHC Symposium

Recently, on March 23 through the 25th, Team Horse Power was at the American Youth Horse Council Symposium in Herdon, Virginia. Not only did team members get to tour various "horse hot spots" in Virginia, we participated in various team building activities with other youth at the symposium. Many of us also particpated in the Hippology contest as well; we all definitely learned we are little fish in a big pond. The banquet was a big surprise on Saturday night, I'm sure nobody can forget Lew being hypnotized! But above all, the team members presented a very interactive and informative program Team Horse Power and the horsemanship skills prgram. It was a great success and we received a lot of good feedback. Well done in Virginia everyone!

Team Horse Power Phase II Training

Tomorrow, March 31st is the Phase II training for Team Horse Power.  A bit different this year, we are gathering at the ASI building at University Park.  We are going to be working on programming for this upcoming season, including planning programs for Ag Progress Days, the PA 4-H State Horse Show, and other clinics and events.

Additionally, we are going to work on blog and facebook postings.  What makes for good reading?  What captures your audience?  These are some of the issues we will address, in improving posts.

At lunch time, we will head to the barns for a tour, and to see the new babies.  Our tour guide, Justene Testa, is a former Team Horse Power member.  Thanks Justene, for taking the time to show us around!!

Other plans for the day include putting together kits to make your own Mop Pony.  These will be sold at the Ag Progress Days, to help support Team Horse Power.

See you all at Phase II!!!

Email Comment from AYHC

I had an email from Linda Starnes, the creator of the Mop Pony.  Among other things, she made the following comment about Team Horrse Power and the presentation.

"Your Team Horse Power members are truly impressive & an inspiration.  I'm so

glad that I was able to see them in action!   The youth & seeing that mop ponies

are making a difference - pretty much just made my year.  :)  You just never know sometimes.

THANK YOU so much for the presentation at AHYC."

Thanks Linda for your appreciation of the program!!

Team Horse Power Presentation at AYHC

The presentation was an overview of our Team Horse Power program and concept in front of an audience of adult educators and volunteers from all over the country. We began with introductions, led by Paige and Cheyenne. Bethany and Lew went into specifics on the program itself, including data on how many youth we have reached since the program has been put into action. JoAnn talked about youth development and the benefits the program has on older teens. Fran and Lauren talked about choosing the team from a youth perspective. Lauren led a rein demonstration for the check and release and soft and light hands regarding turning. Michele introduced the On the Road to Horsemanship Skills program and Paige did a figure eight demonstration using stick ponies. We included our own experiences and talked about how the program has helped us develop personally into better 4-Hers and develop our own skills and talents as well as giving back to the community. The presentation was well-received overall and we got a lot of positive feedback from the audience who are interested in implementing a similar program in their own areas.   copied from Michele Gannon's summary report

Hey Everyone!

Hope everyone is having a good spring and taking advantage of the beautiful riding weather!  Good luck to everyone who is attending any early shows and I hope to see you all on the 31st!
~Joey

Phase one training

Phase one training was tons of fun this year. It was great to see everyone again. It was really fun working with other 4-h members and their horses.

AYHC Symposium

This coming weekend several of the Team Horse Power members will be at the AYHC Symposium, in Herndon, VA to do a presentation about the THP program, explaining what it is about, how they became involved, and what being a member means to them.  We are excited to have this opportunity, and are looking forward to spending time at the symposium.  Good luck to all of you who are presenting.  Thanks for taking the time from your schedule to attend and help with the presentation.  See you in Virginia!!!

Team Horse Power Phase I Training

Thanks to all of you who participated in the Phase 1 training.  I think it was a great weekend!  Teaching at Leah Ann's barn was a good learninig experience for you all.  Thanks to the youth who acted as your guinea pigs, and allowed you to teach and teach again.  Good job all! 

Upcoming Team Horse Power Events

Hello all!  Hope winter is going well for you!  We are getting into the season where there will be weveral events that will require the assistance of THP members.  Please do your part to help out when and where you can!

UPCOMING TEAM HORSE POWER EVENTS

February 23-26 PA Horse World Expo-Harrisburg, PA
 Helpers from the West-thanks for stepping up!

• Laurel Johnson
• Paige Henry

March 23-25-AYHC Symposium-Herndon, VA
THP members doing presentation

• Paige Henry
• Lauren Androstic
• Fran McAninch
• Michele Gannon
• Cheyenne Myers

March 2-4-Team Horse Power Phase 1 Training-Centre County
APPLICATIONS FOR THE TRAINING ARE DUE ON FEBRUARY 25TH.  IF YOU HAVEN'T YET, GET YOUR APPLICATIONS SENT IN!!

We are looking forward to a very busy season for Team Horse Power.  So be sure to stay in touch with team members, as well as Bethany and Lew, so you don't miss out!  Thanks!!

UPCOMING EVENTS!

Hello All!  There are several events coming up that involve the Team Horse Power members.  The first is the PA Horse World Expo.  THP members will be assisting in the operation of a booth at the expo, helping to promote the PA 4-H Horse program.  They will also be assisting with the demonstration of making Mop Ponies.  The members will help those interested in making their own Mop Pony to take home!  The Expo dates are February 23-26.  Come visit us there!!

The next event is the 2012 Team Horse Power Phase 1 training.  The training will be held in Clinton and Centre counties.  Teens at least 14 years of age and members of the 4-H program are invited to apply to attend the training.  Information about this training will be sent out this week.  Watch for those applications.  The dates for the training are March 2-4.

The American Youth Horse Council Symposium is to be held in Herndon, VA this year.  Several team members applied to represent Team Horse Power in a presentation at the symposium.  They will be invited to travel to the symposium.  All other 4-H horse members are encouraged to attend the symposium.  The dates are March 23-25.  Mark your calendars!

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone has been enjoying the holiday season!  It is snowy and cold here in Erie County.  Go figure:)

I have heard from a couple of Team Horse Power members regarding the Horse World Expo and the AYHC Symposium, and am glad for the positive responses!  Remember the deadline for application for AYHC is January 20th.  If you plan to apply, please get working on the app.

Bethany and I have been working with Kirsten Dubbs, planning the booth for the Expo.  What a great opportunity to spread the word about the Pennsylvania 4-H Horse Program! 

See you all soon I'm sure.  Again Happy New Year!  May 2012 bring the best to you all!