FORT COLLINS – Eight Valley 4-H members competed in various state contests at the Colorado State 4-H Conference, June 19-22, at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. At the event Kristine Hoffner of Center took home reserve champion in the Prepared Speaking Contest. Local teams in Hippology and Horse Bowl placed third and fifth, respectively.

In the Prepared Speaking event, youth give a six to eight minute speech on a topic relevant to today’s youth. Hoffner’s speech was titled “Hardships often lead to beautiful destinations” and focused on the strength she gained while dealing with family medical challenges. Judges recognized her poise, delivery, and organization, by awarding her the reserve champion award.

Rio Grande County 4-Hers Nikki-Jo Albert, Savona Thomson, and Blair Vanderpool, along with Alamosa 4-Her Kylie Christensen, competed in the Hippology Contest, placing third overall. In this event, teams display their knowledge of horses and the horse industry through a written test, identification stations, a team problem, and horse judging. The group won first in the team problem portion of the contest.

Individual awards were also given for top finishers in each Hippology contest section. Albert was recognized as the third place individual overall, and also took home second place in judging, second in stations, and ninth in the written exam. Teammate Thomson was recognized as the tenth place overall individual, and placed sixth in judging, eighth in stations, and tenth on the written exam. Christensen was also recognized with a seventh place individual award for the judging portion.

Thomson, Vanderpool and Christensen also competed, along with Amelie Pacheco of Del Norte, in the Horse Bowl contest. They placed fifth. The group was coached for both events by Robin Christensen.

Conejos County members Jayceen Booth and Kelcey Martin competed in the Impromptu Speaking Contest. In this event, they gave a three to five minute speech, with only 10 minutes of preparation time.

The San Luis Valley sent a nine-member youth delegation to the 4-H State Conference, which serves as a learning, competition, and leadership development opportunity for youth from all over the state. The event featured workshops, entertainment, and 12 state contests. Valley 4-Her Kristine Hoffner, of Saguache County, served on the state officer team that planned the event.

For more information on the 4-H youth development program, visit the San Luis Valley website at http://sanluisvalley.colostate.edu, call 719-852-7381 or email [email protected]. 4-H is a cooperative effort between Colorado State University Extension and Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande and Saguache counties. Extension programs are available to all without discrimination.

Captions: Savona Thomson, Kristine Hoffner, Nikki-Jo Albert and Amelie Pacheco show off the awards they won in various 2018 State 4-H Conference contests./Courtesy photos

Nikki-Jo Albert and Savona Thomson show of their team and individual awards for Hippology.

Kristine Hoffner shows off her Reserve Champion ribbon and award for the Prepared Speaking Contest.