Riders compete in 4-H horse and pony show

HANCOCK COUNTY — After flying past the flags while sitting atop a horse named June Bug, Hannah Grah jumped off the horse, pulled the helmet off her head and then wiped the sweat off her face following the flag race in the riding arena. It was opening night of the Hancock County 4-H Fair, a hot summer night for the first event of the evening for all the horses and riders who still had to compete in the barrel race, pole bending and the speed and action riding events.

Hannah, a fairly new rider, just graduated from New Palestine High School and was taking part in her final 4-H riding events.

“I’ve been riding for about three years, but I’ve only been riding June Bug for about a year,” Hannah said. “I’d been wanting to get into horses since I was little so when my older sister moved out, my parents let me get involved.”

Hannah rode well enough to earn a ribbon in the flag event, but she was really looking forward to taking part in the speed and action events.

“June Bug is not the fastest horse, but those are more precision-type events and she’s better at them,” Hannah said.

While the numbers of participants taking part in the Hancock County 4-H program are down this year, organizers still had plenty of riders involved in the Horse and Pony Show with 36 participants, including eight mini-4-H participants taking part in various horse-related events throughout the fair.

The horse and pony show is divided into two age groups — juniors who are in third through seventh grade and then the senior class riders, who are in eighth grade through senior year of high school.

Barb Pescitelli has been the co-superintendent of the horse and pony show for 14 years and involved with the 4-H program for over 25 years as her daughter was a 10-year 4-H member. Pescitelli noted horse people are a special group who grow quite close to the animals they work with and show.

“I’ve seen a horse change a life for the better, bringing out the best qualities and even healing a soul,” Pescitelli said of working with horses.

One of the joys she gets of watching kids ride is seeing them select and work with horses in 4-H as they grow and develop a real relationship with the horse. Not all riders own their horse, but all are encouraged to water and feed their horse daily as well as ride and spend time with the animal to develop a real bond.

“I think the thing I like best is seeing the riders grow and mature,” Pescitelli said. “After years of riding, when the riders are done, they’re ready to take on the world because of the confidence they got from being able to work with an animal that is over 1,000 pounds because they are not going to fight with them, but rather learn about how to work with them and that’s a great skill.”

Bayli Wolsiefer, a sixth-grade student, also rides June Bug. Bayli started riding and learned six months worth of English riding skills before also learning about Western riding.

“I really like riding,” Bayli said while standing beside June Bug waiting her turn to ride. “I just hope we do a good job.”

Pescitelli noted that the younger a person can start riding horses, the better. She said riders like Bayli will be top-of-the-field by the time she’s a senior rider.

Christina Anderson just graduated from New Palestine High School has been riding horses with 4-H for four seasons now. But, she’s been riding since she was about five years old. Christina noted that heading into her final 4-H events riding Pistol, a horse she has only been working with for a few months, is a tough way to finish 4-H.

“We’re still learning a lot about each other,” Christina said. “But, I can tell you she is fast.”

It’s why Christina was looking forward to the open show, dash for cash event later in the fair. Friday night the riders took part in contesting events while Saturday morning they participated in halter and performance events which had 37 different categories, including Western Halter and English Showmanship.

“I do know I’m going to miss being a part of 4-H,” Christina said.

Christie Proper knows how hard it is to say so long to the 4-H, so she hasn’t. She’s a former participant and had a son who was a 10-year 4-H member. Now she helps work to put on the horse and pony show, assisting Pescitelli any way she can. She signed the riders up for the weekend shows and then gave each rider a bridal hook shoe handmade by Brandt Walden, a farrier. It’s bent with half getting attached to a wall and the other half sticking out like a hook to hold a coat, hat, or whatever needs to be hung.

“I just love 4-H,” Proper said. “We are still involved because we love working with the kids.”