ESSEX JUNCTION — Adriana Holbrook, Hardwick and LeighAnn Judd, Wolcott, were among Vermont 4-H horse members who kicked off the new year with 4-H Winter Horse Camp at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction.

photo by Mary Fay
The event was hosted by Chittenden County 4-H and open to 4-Hers from throughout the state. Thirty-one horse enthusiasts from five counties attended the January 3 and 4 event.
Friday evening activities included a pizza party and get-acquainted game. The 4-Hers took part in two craft workshops, one on leatherwork to make key chains, bracelets and other leather crafts and the other to create wind chimes from recycled stirrups, spurs, bits and other horse-related objects.
The evening concluded with a horseless horse show featuring the 4-Hers as the horses.
The following morning, the 4-Hers learned about the 4-H hippology competition. Amanda Gifford, Fairfax, described the stations phase while University of Vermont (UVM) Extension 4-H Educator Martha Manning talked about the slides phase.
The final winter camp activity was the Tack Grab Relay, where members of each team competed to be the first to find a specific item in a pile of tack and equipment. Once the pile was empty, each team had to identify each claimed item and explain its purpose.