About 450 youth riders from across Nebraska will gather in Grand Island July 17-21 to compete in the 2011 Fonner Park State 4-H Exposition.
4-H'ers who earned blue and purple ribbons at one of Nebraska's six 4-H district horse shows are qualified to compete in their specific events. Members enrolled in the 4-H horse project who did not qualify at the district level may still enter the showmanship and halter competitions at the state level.
The exposition begins July 17 with horse check-in from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The hippology competition starts at 6 p.m.
July 18 starts with the halter competitions and showmanship trials at 7:30 a.m. The showmanship finals are then held at 5 p.m. R.B. Warren and Grand Island Saddle Club Scholarship interviews start at 9 a.m. The judging phase of the hippology contest is at 1 p.m., along with the horse judging contest. The results of these contests are announced at 6:30 p.m. The trail horse competition starts at 7 p.m. and ends the day's events.
July 19 begins with English pleasure and English equitation finals at 7:30 a.m. Western horsemanship trials begin at 8 a.m., followed by the hunter hack trials at 9 a.m. The 3-year-old western pleasure finals start at 10 a.m. Finals for western pleasure ponies and trials for western pleasure horses begin at 10:30 a.m. The 2-year-old western pleasure trials begin at 4 p.m. Finals for the hunter hack, western pleasure, 2-year-old snaffle bit western pleasure and western horsemanship competitions all start at 6:30 p.m. The scholarship winners are announced after the senior western pleasure finals. The day ends with a 4-H exhibitor party in the grandstand from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
July 20 begins with the western riding competition at 7:30 a.m., immediately followed by advanced western horsemanship at 8 a.m. Also at 8 a.m. is the pole bending trials, immediately followed by the finals. The advanced western pleasure, advanced English pleasure and advanced English equitation competitions follow at 9:15, 10:30 and 11 a.m. Barrel racing trials begin at 12:30 p.m., followed immediately by the finals. Also at 12:30 p.m. is the dressage competition. The reining trials begin at 2:30 p.m., immediately followed by the finals. Check-ins for the following day's (July 21) events goes from noon until 7 p.m.
July 21 begins at 7 a.m. with the working ranch horse competition. The break-a-way calf roping, calf roping and dally roping competitions begin at 8 a.m. with the finals immediately following the preliminaries for each class.
For more information visit the 2011 Fonner Park State 4-H Exposition website.
7/6/11-JT