4-H Horse Judging Team at Nationals

(L–R) Clara Johnson, Caraline Higgins, Taylor Root and Noah Jelinek
(L–R) Clara Johnson, Caraline Higgins, Taylor Root and Noah Jelinek

Several Nebraska Youth attended the Western National Roundup’s Horse Classic on Jan. 5–7, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. In order to qualify, each team and individual were required to win the state competition.

This year, the Horse Judging contest consisted of 42 individuals on 11 different teams from across the nation. The Lancaster County horse judging team of Caraline Higgins, Noah Jelinek, Clara Johnson and Taylor Root (coached by Roger Bell) earned 3rd place high team overall in the Horse Judging Contest. In addition, they received 4th high team halter, 3rd high team performance and 1st high team reasons! Individually, Caraline Higgins received 9th in performance, 15th in reasons and 17th high overall. Noah Jelinek received 19th in reasons and 20th in halter. Clara Johnson received 1st in reasons, 4th in halter, 12th in high overall and 18th in performance. Taylor Root received 7th in reasons, 7th in performance, 9th high overall and 16th in halter.

Team Nebraska also received 3rd place top high point overall state. For the full list of results, go to https://co4h.colostate.edu/national-western-roundup.