Putnam 4-H Horse Judging Team concludes outstanding 2018 season

Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Putnam County 4-H Horse Judging Team state qualifiers are (front, from left) Dale Thomas, Callie Buckman, Lilly Stanley and Izabella Summerlot and (back from left) Leah Sallee, Kyley Pelfrey, Emma Summers, Sydney Moore, MacKenzie McCullough, Grace Harris and Rachel Sallee.
Courtesy photo

The Putnam County 4-H Horse Judging Team had a fun and successful season. The team began meeting every week starting in late October, with the season culminating in contest participation during April and May.

The team was comprised of junior and senior 4-H members from grades 5-12. Senior members are Grace Harris, Kayla Evans and Emma Summers. Junior members are Callie Buckman, Skylar Craddick, MacKenzie McCullough, Sydney Moore, Austin Nickerson, Bella Parker, Kyley Pelfrey, Leah Sallee, Rachel Sallee, Lilly Stanley, Izabella Summerlot, Aubrey Summers Dale Thomas and Ella Thomas.

Coached by Lisa Pitts with assistance from Cassie Lehman and Jessica Hays, the team began the competition season at the Purdue Western Equestrian Team invitational contest on a very cold April 7, where the Junior Team of McCullough, Moore, Buckman and Aubrey Summers captured first and the Junior Team of Summerlot, Pelfrey, Nickerson and Stanley placed second.

Members of the 2018 Putnam County 4-H Horse Judging Team are (front, from left) Aubrey Summers, Callie Buckman, Izabella Summerlot and Lilly Stanley, and (back, from left) assistant coach Jessica Hays, coach Lisa Pitts, Grace Harris, Emma Summers, Kyley Pelfrey, MacKenzie McCullough, Leah Sallee, Sydney Moore, Dale Thomas, Ella Thomas, Rachel Sallee, Austin Nickerson and cssistant coach Cassie Lehman. Not pictured, Bella Parker, Kayla Evans and Skylar Craddick.
Courtesy photo

Individually, the Putnam County Juniors took home the top six places with Pelfrey coming away with top honors, followed in order by Moore, Buckman, Stanley, Summerlot and McCullough. In the Senior Division, Emma Summers earned fifth place and Grace Harris brought home eighth.

The next competition on April 21 was hosted by the Western Boone FFA Chapter. Again, Putnam County was well represented, coming away with top honors in the Junior Division and notable accomplishments in the Senior Division. The contest not only recognized overall team and individual placings, but also recognized accomplishments in the reasons division (where contestants give an oral explanation of how they placed the class to the contest official).

In the Senior Division, Harris placed first and Emma Summers placed fifth in the Reasons Division. Overall, Harris earned a second place.

In the Junior Division for Reasons, Putnam County took four of the top five placings with Pelfrey taking first, Buckman in second, Parker taking third and Nickerson in fourth. Overall, the Juniors again took four of the top five placings with Pelfrey again bringing top honors followed by Buckman in second, Parker in third and Aubrey Summers fourth.

In the team rankings, Putnam County took the top two slots in the Junior Division with the team of Nickerson, Parker and Aubrey Summers bringing home top honors and the team of Pelfrey, Buckman and Stanley placing second.

The following weekend, April 27-28, the teams traveled to Saint Mary of the Woods Equestrian Center to compete in the Area V competition. Two seniors and 11 juniors were able to participate.

In the Senior Division, Harris took second and Emma Summers placed fourth individually, qualifying them to compete in the state contest. In the Junior Division, Moore took home second, Pelfrey finished third, Dale Thomas placed fourth and Stanley earned fifth place -- all qualifying individually to advance to the state competition.

In the team rankings of the Junior Division, Putnam County dominated, earning the top three positions. The team of Moore, Summerlot, Leah Sallee and Dale Thomas captured first, Pelfrey, Buckman, Rachel Sallee and McCullough earned second and Parker, Nickerson and Ella Thomas took home third. The top two teams qualified to advance to the state competition as well.

The team concluded the season at the State 4-H Horse Judging Contest May 5 in Danville. Harris and Emma Summers performed well, falling just short of the placings.

In the Junior Division, Putnam County members again found their way into the top rankings. In the Reasons Division, Pelfrey earned second place and Rachel Sallee placed fourth. Individually, Buckman had a fourth-place finish and Moore brought home 10th.

Finally, in team rankings, the team of Pelfrey, McCullough, Buckman and Rachel Sallee earned top honors, placing first, while the team of Dale Thomas, Leah Sallee, Moore and Summerlot achieved third place.

"It was an outstanding season with an outstanding group of kids, not just because of their accomplishments at the contests, but because of the hard work, personal growth and effort each and every kid demonstrated," coach Lisa Pitts said. "I just could not be more proud of this group."

The team is on break now, but will resume later this fall as it begins to gear up for the 2019 competition season.

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