The primary purpose of NYS 4-H Horse Judging contest is to recognize 4-H horse project members with outstanding knowledge of equine conformation and performance and also with outstanding skill in the presentation of oral explanations of their evaluation of the equines used in the contest.

This contest is not always offered at the county and regional level, but it is offered at the State and National event. This contest provides a means for the selection of individuals to represent the state at national competitions.

For the state contest youth who are new to judging are able to participate in the Novice division, this allows them a chance to learn and not jump right into their Junior or Senior division if it is their first time judging!

Sunday, August 25, 2024

Check-in at 7:30 PM / Contest starts at 8 am sharp!

Location:  4-H Youth Pole Barn Arena, NYS Fairgrounds, Syracuse, NY

Deadline to Enter:  Friday, August 2, 2024, at 11:59 pm

Contest Entry Information:  Only CCE County Educator or staff will be able to register youth via the CCE Event Registration for Programs portal.  Registration for this event is online only.  Youth must register with their local 4-H county educator.

• Educators:  Register your 2024 NYS 4-H Horse Judging Teams Here

Contest Helpers:  On the entry form each team is to designate one contest day helper. We will need help scoring, room running, etc., and will recruit these people to help on the day of the event.

Qualifying:  Any youth selected by their region is eligible to complete at the state contest. There will be three team levels – Advanced (Junior or Senior team members allowed), Junior (Junior team members only), and Novice. Each county may enter two teams of no more than four 4-H horse project members.

Gate and Parking Passes:  Attention CCE staff with youth participating in this event, your county office will be responsible for distributing parking passes and gate tickets to the youth in your county participating at this event.

Pre-contest Zoom Meeting:  There will be a Zoom meeting held on August 7th for Educators, Coaches, Youth and Families who register for Hippology and Judging at the State Fair. For those that have never attended Hippology/Judging at State Fair we are asking that you attend this meeting, but we highly RECOMMEND EVERYONE attends! In this meeting we will go over how to get your tickets to get into fair, your teams/coaches, and more! Please make sure you provide up-to-date email information, so you receive the information about this Zoom meeting.

Remember:

• Please be familiar with the state rules that can be found in NYS 4-H Horse Educational Events Rule Book.
• We ask that youth be mindful that we will start registration at 7:30 am.  Contest begins at 8 AM SHARP.  This will be a long day, and we need to start on time.
• If, at the last minute, you are unable to attend the event, please contact Barb Jones at bjj6 [at] cornell.edu (subject: NYS%204-H%20Hippology%20and%20Judging%20Contests) (bjj6[at]cornell[dot]edu) before the event starts and let us know.

Resources:  A list of resources can be found below.

For more information contact: 

• Colleen Wersinger, NYS 4-H Horse Judging Chairperson – colleenwersinger [at] gmail.com (subject: NYS%204-H%20Horse%20Judging%20Contest) (colleenwersinger[at]gmail[dot]com)
• jms943 [at] cornell.edu (subject: NYS%204-H%20Horse%20Judging%20and%20Hippology%20Contest) (Jessica Tyson), NYS 4-H Horse Educational Events Coordinator – jms943 [at] cornell.edu (subject: NYS%204-H%20Hippology%20and%20Judging%20Contest) (jms943[at]cornell[dot]edu)