Coffee FFA and 4-H combined their efforts this year in horse judging with a plan that would maximize the number of participants throughout the county. The efforts paid off in a big way. The senior team brought back a state championship and Madeleine Tuten scored the highest in the senior division and earned Master 4-H’er status.
On April 5, Coffee High FFA students Grace Barrett, Josie Grantham, Jayla Cobb, and Mikayla Hayes were named the State FFA Reserve Champions. The event consisted of placing five classes of horses including two halter classes and three performance classes – western pleasure, hunter under saddle, and western riding. The members also took an equine general knowledge exam and completed a team activity over the care of mares in foal. Each student had to give two sets of oral reasons describing the class and explaining their placings. Grace Barrett was also named the high individual for Area 6 in the senior FFA division.
On April 20, the junior 4-H team consisting of Rayley Batten, Mollie Brown, and Natalie Tuten took home a 3rd place win at the state 4-H contest. This was the first time these students from Coffee County competed in horse judging.
The senior team consisting of Madeleine Tuten, JT Vaughn, and Stan Carelock took home the title of State Champions placing 1st in the state 4-H Contest. These students will move on to the national contest that will be held during the Western National RoundUp in Denver, Colorado next January. In addition to Madeleine’s first-place score, Stan Carelock was the 10th individual in the senior division. In the junior division, Rayley Batten was 4th individual and Mollie Brown was the 6th individual.
4-H students gave two sets of oral reasons in the junior division while the seniors presented three sets of reasons. The classes they judged included: two halter classes, hunter under saddle, ranch rail, hunt seat equitation, and western horsemanship.
Horses are judged in halter classes based on conformation taking into consideration their overall balance, structure, muscle, and breed/sex characteristics. In performance classes, horses are judged over their ability to complete a pattern if it is a pattern class, responsiveness to their riders, trueness to gait, cadence, movement, and behavior.