Whiteside County 4-H competitor takes first in a state horse judging category

GALVA — Talisa Thomas of Whiteside County took first in one category at the 4-H state equine judging contest held Feb. 18 at Black Hawk College East Campus, according to a news release from Carissa Nelson of the state 4-H office.

In this contest, youth ages 14 and older each judge six classes of horses, at least two being halter classes and the oral reasons following the classes.

Horse judging competitions allow participants to demonstrate their understanding of the evaluation criteria while honing participants’ observation and decision making skills, said Deb Hagstrom, equine specialist for University of Illinois Extension.

Thomas was first in the oral reasons / ranked-by-reasons judging category.

Thomas also was sixth in the reasons overall category and sixth in the reasons by halter placing category.

A team from Ogle County participated in the non-reasons teams category. Addison Yordy of Ogle was eighth in the non-reasons ranked by halter-placing category and Adalyn Bocker of Ogle County was eighth in the non-reasons ranked by questions category.

The top performers in the reasons division will participate in a second judging contest during the Illinois Junior Horse Show at Springfield State Fairgrounds in July. They are vying for the four-member 4-H horse judging team to represent Illinois at the national contest in the fall.