UW Horse Judging Team Offers Clinic This Weekend

Members of one of the top collegiate horse judging teams in the nation will host the 2018 Wyoming Horse Judging Academy Saturday, March 24-Sunday, March 25, at the University of Wyoming.

“This clinic teaches how to judge several performance and halter classes,” says Tanner McClure, a member of the UW horse judging team. “It’s centered around preparing 4-H and FFA teams and coaches for upcoming competitions, as well as giving past and current collegiate and carded judges refreshers on the industry.”

The cost for the clinic is $35 for youths and $45 for adults. To register, visit https://wyoming4h.formstack.com/forms/horse_judging_academy. Food and prizes will be included.

Horse judging basics, including how to present oral reasons, will be presented at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Animal Science Building on North 19th Street, between Willett Drive and East Harney Street.

Participants will then meet Sunday at the Cliff and Martha Hansen Livestock Teaching Arena, two miles west of Laramie on Highway 230, to apply their skills judging live horses.

Jennifer Ingwerson-Niemann, UW Extension equine specialist and coach of the horse judging team, says last year’s academy attracted participants from ages 8 to over 60.

“This year, we’re dividing participants into age groups for more individualized learning,” Ingwerson-Niemann says. “The academy not only helps the community, but proceeds directly support the UW horse judging team to compete in collegiate contests around the nation.”

For more information about the clinic, email McClure at tmcclur4@uwyo.edu.