County Contests
County competitions are offered in 4 categories for cloverbuds, juniors and seniors.
Horse Judging is held in November each year and introduces 4-H youth to assessing conformation and quality of horses. This competition requires both horse knowledge and public speaking skills. See the useful links tab for the horse judging manual. This photo is from the Nov '24 Horse Judging Contest at Proctor Hill Farm in Littleton, MA.
Visual presentations take place in March and offer 4-H members the opportunity to speak persuasively to an audience on any topic of their choosing. Members first present to their clubs and then have the option move on to the regional/county competition. The regional contest is March 1, 2025 at Essex Agricultural High School.
Horse Bowl and Hippology was January 4th in Westford MA. These are competitions that test 4-H'ers general knowledge of equines. Horse Bowl is a quiz-bowl style competition with buzzers, and Hippology offers written testing. See the useful links tab for the books and materials used for these contests.
State Contests
State Contests are offered for both juniors and seniors in the same four categories. 2025 dates are
State Visuals 2023: April 5, 2025 and April 26, 2025
State Horse Judging: April 13, 2025
State 4-H Horse Bowl and Hippology: April 12, 2025
National Contests
Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup is held every November in Louisville, KY.
The top four senior competitors at the state competitions are invited to train for national competition.
Congratulations to our Middlesex County 4-H members who competed in Kentucky in 2024:
Lizzie Tripp, Hippology, 8th Place team
Danielle Delaney, Public Speech, Communications 8th Place Team
Laura House and Erin Cassidy, National Champion Team Presentation, 8th Place Communications Team
Edith Volz, Horse Judging, 11th Place Team
Samantha Nappi, Horse Bowl, 9th Place Team
