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 '25 Horse Judging Contest at Crimson Acres in Orange, 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 contests will be held in March 2026

Horse Bowl and Hippology will be January 3rd 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.

4-H Middlesex Horse Advisory Council

County Contests

County competitions are offered in 4 categories for cloverbuds, juniors and seniors.

State Contests

State Contests are offered for both juniors and seniors in the same four categories. 2025 dates are

National Contests

Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup is held every November in Louisville, KY.