Published: June 03, 2009 10:29 pm      

4-H qualifying horse show running this weekend

DUNCAN — Hearts and hooves will be pounding this weekend at the 4-H Southwest District Horse Show, beginning at 11 a.m. Friday and ending Saturday, at the Stephens County Fair & Expo Center.

The district show is the qualifying show for 4-H members who aspire to go to the All-State horse show later in the year. Competitors must have been in 4-H and pre-registered for the show.

Susan Murray, District 4-H specialist, said there is a total of “20 counties in the Southwest District, and most have entered... with over 400 entries total.”

With several events and three age groups ranging from 9 to 15 and up, there are numerous opportunities for district 4-H members to shine. These events, called classes, include hunter hack, showmanship, Western horsemanship, reining and barrel racing.

Each of these is grouped into an overall category. The categories are divided into English Riding, Timed Riding and Western Riding. The champion and reserve champion for each category will be presented after all classes have been completed for that category.

The only exception is the Two-Year Old Training Class, which begins at 11 a.m. on Friday and kicks off the show.

Murray noted that the number who qualify and proceed to state competition will be determined based on the number of entries per class.

Judging the event will be David Terrell, from Millington, Tenn. Terrell has garnered much experience, having judged shows of this type since 1997. He has also judged competitions in every state in the nation, excluding Rhode Island, and is set to judge the Australian Quarter Horse Association Show in Queensland, Australia, later this year.

This is the fourth year in a row that the Stephens County Fair & Expo Center has hosted the show. It was previously held at the Grady County Fairgrounds in Chickasha.

The show is free and open to the public.