Chambana Sun

The Illinois 4-H State Hippology team demonstrated their equine knowledge at the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup, achieving the title of 2024 Hippology champions. The team's expertise was assessed in areas such as breed identification, anatomy, tack identification, nutrition, reproductive physiology, disease management, parasite identification, and emergency preparedness.

The winning team consisted of Talisa Thomas from Whiteside County, Ellis Rogers from Knox County, Hannah Wenzel from Saline County, Allison Burrs from Carroll County. Coaches Bryan Hollewell and Olivia Charles are volunteers from Carroll County.

The team excelled by securing Champion Team overall, Champion Team in both written and stations phases and took sixth place in the team problems phase. Individually, Allison Burrs stood out as the high individual in both written and stations phases as well as overall. Ellis Rogers ranked sixth in the stations phase and tied for fifth overall. Hannah Wenzel placed ninth in the written phase and seventh in stations phase.

Talisa Thomas also contributed significantly to the team's success across various phases despite not receiving ribbons individually. Her performance helped earn high team scores within phases due to there being no drop scores in this contest.

The Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup is a platform for youth to compete nationally while fostering teamwork and self-confidence with a focus on Science, Engineering, Technology, Mathematics (STEM), Healthy Living and Citizenship—key components of the 4-H Mission Mandates.

Involvement with horses through 4-H extends beyond riding skills; it includes educational contests related to horse health management regardless of horse ownership. These programs aim to enhance members' understanding of horse health and breed characteristics.

Support for Illinois youth competing at national levels comes from the Illinois 4-H Foundation and its donors.

Illinois 4-H is part of University of Illinois Extension's youth development program through its College of Agriculture, Consumer & Environmental Sciences. The program emphasizes leadership skills preparing youth for future careers by offering hands-on learning experiences that increase community involvement and participation in STEM activities according to independent research findings on its impact.

For further information about these programs or events visit the Illinois 4-H website or contact Deb Hagstrom at hagstrom@illinois.edu or Carissa Nelson at carissa7@illinois.edu for media inquiries.