Skagit County 4-H competes at state

Three Skagit County 4-H teams competed May 2-3 in Moses Lake at the Washington State 4-H Hippology Contest and the Washington State 4-H Horse Bowl Contest.

Competing were intermediate and senior Hippology (horse studies) teams and the senior Horse Bowl team.

The senior Horse Bowl team placed first and will now move on to the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup in Kentucky in November.

Skagit County 4-H includes 20 4-H clubs from throughout the county. There are clubs about animals, robotics, cooking, archery, and other skills and knowledge areas.

In Horse Bowl, students answer horse-themed trivia questions in a Knowledge Bowl format.

In Hippology, students do presentations, match words and phrases to pictures, participate in four judging classes and take a written test.

In Horse Bowl, Skagit County 4-H member Ray Lightner finished first and Georgia Truman third as individuals. Team members Sawyer Pruett and Maddy Epps finished 10th as individuals.

The senior Hippology team placed second with Lightner finishing first and Truman third.

Skagit County 4-H coach Sherrie Nelson said the kids that work with horses in 4-H go above and beyond to become better horsemen.

Truman said the experience of the competitions sharpened her competitive edge.

"(Being in 4-H has) honestly changed my life. I am a super competitive person and 4-H makes me take a step back and appreciate the fact that there are little kids looking up to me ... it's inspired me to go out of my comfort zone ... (Nelson) inspires me every day to do better and work harder," Truman said.

Ray Apollo competed in Horse Bowl for a sixth year, and was team captain this year.

In his time in 4-H, he has also competed at the state level in Equine Judging, Performance and Western Gaming, and will compete later this month in the state Equine Individual Presentation contest.

At state, Apollo was awarded the High-Score Exam ribbon, High-Score ID Stations ribbon and was the Overall High-Score Individual Senior, earning a ribbon and gold medal.

"(Going to state) has really taught me that hard work really does pay off. This is my sixth year on the team and though I've spent the last six years studying, I really cracked down this year ... I plan to continue to work hard for nationals. I really want the team do well," Apollo said.

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