4-H Horse Group

Youth in the horse arena showing off ribbons and plaques from a 4-H Horse competition. — 2024-2025 Horse Judging Team

This program is available for 4-H members in grades 4 – 12. This is a county team competition with a team consisting of 3 or 4 members. Members will be asked questions taken from the Tennessee 4-H Horse Bowl Handbook. The competition is much like the game of jeopardy. 4-H members will be asked questions while using an electric buzzer system. The team will receive points for correct answers and penalty points for incorrect answers. At the present time a District and State competition is available with the winning senior state team representing Tennessee at the Eastern National Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.

This program is available for 4-H members in grades 4 – 12. This is a county team competition as well as an individual competition. The contest is a test of basic knowledge related to the Horse Industry. The contest is composed of a 50 question written test, a 50 question identification test, and two classes of horse judging worth 100 points. Team members and high individuals will receive awards based on highest points scored. At the present time a District and State competition is available with the winning senior team representing Tennessee at the Eastern National Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.

This program is available to 4-H members in grades 4 – 12. This is a county team competition as well as an individual competition. This contest is made up of 3 or 4 team members. Members will judge 6 to 8 classes of horses evaluated on conformation and performance qualities, and must defend their placing with 2 or 3 sets of oral reasons. Each class will be worth 50 points with the highest winning team score declared the winner. At the present time a district and state competition is available with the 1st and 2nd place state winning team representing Tennessee at the Southern Regional championship. The 1st place state senior team will also represent Tennessee at the Eastern National Championship in Louisville, Kentucky. Several other horse judging contests are available for the state 4-H champion team to participate in throughout the year.

This contest is eligible to senior 4-H members (9th – 12th grades). The speech should be 7-10 minutes in length and must pertain to the horse industry. The rules for the contest can be found in the back of the Tennessee State 4-H Horse Championship Handbook. At the present time there is only a state contest that is held during the Tennessee State 4-H Horse Show. The state champion will receive a $500 scholarship. The 1st and 2nd state champion speaking winner will represent Tennessee at the Southern Regional Championship. The 1st place winner will represent Tennessee at the Eastern National Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.

This contest is eligible to senior 4-H members (9th – 12th grades). The demonstration should be 9-12 minutes in length and must pertain to the horse industry. The rules for the contest can be found in the back of the Tennessee State 4-H Horse Championship Handbook. At the present time there is only a state contest that is held during the Tennessee State 4-H Horse Show. Each state champion winner will receive a $500 scholarship. The 1st and 2nd place state winner will represent Tennessee at the Southern Regional 4-H Championship. The 1st place winner will also represent Tennessee at the Eastern National 4-H Roundup in Louisville, Kentucky.

This contest is eligible to senior 4-H members (9th – 12th grades). The team demonstration should be 9-12 minutes in length and must pertain to the horse industry. The rules for the contest can be found in the back of the Tennessee State 4-H Horse Championship Handbook. At the present time there is only a state contest that is held at the Tennessee State 4-H Horse Show. Each state winning team will receive $500 to split between them. The 1st and 2nd place winners will represent Tennessee at the Southern Regional 4-H Championship. The 1st place winner will also represent Tennessee at the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup in Louisville, Kentucky.

The statewide Regional 4-H Horse Shows are available for any youth in Tennessee grades 4 through 12. The shows are usually held at four different locations during the first weekend in June. Pre-registration is required and should be handled through each county Extension Office in Tennessee. This three day event is available to any youth riding English, Western, Walking, Contest, or cattle events.

The State 4-H Horse Show is held in Shelbyville, Tennessee, at the National Walking Horse Show Grounds. Each 4-H member must qualify at their District Horse Show to be eligible to participate. The show is usually held for an entire week and is available for any breed or style of riding. High Point Awards are given in each division and a county wide stable management award is also awarded to the county exhibiting the most attractive and properly managed stable during the show. A special recognition program is given to graduating seniors following a state pizza party. The show is a wonderful opportunity for youth to exhibit their skills in horsemanship competition.

The Southern Regional 4-H Horse Show is eligible to the top 40 4-H Horse Project members in Tennessee. This show is a qualifying show based on participation at the State 4-H Horse Show. This show rotates to different states in the Southern Region and is the highlight of the 4-H show season. Each member must register and pay fees before leaving the State 4-H Horse Show.

This project is available to 4-H members grades 4th and 5th in the Central Region. Any Junior member or a team may participate in this demonstration contest to represent their county. Demonstrations are limited to 3 to 4 minutes individually and as a team. A demonstration is a step by step visual presentation on anything related to Horse Science.

This is an interactive exhibit for 6th, 7th and 8th graders in the Central Region. Each exhibitor will be given ½ of a 6 foot table for the exhibit. The 4-H members will be expected to explain their exhibit in 1-2 minutes. The judge will have 2-3 minutes to ask questions. The interactive exhibit will be for the judges, not an audience. Exhibits must have a title and include the word 4-H or the clover somewhere on the exhibit. The exhibit needs to be related to the horse project.

A 4-H member may participate in the 4-H Horse portfolio competition starting in the 7th grade. There is no State competition in the junior high portfolio competition; however, 4-H members should be encouraged to complete their records to qualify for Junior High Academic Conference. Portfolio competition continues through high school with two levels of competition: Level I and Level II. In the 9th and 10th grade 50% is based on records and 50% on a horse project interview. 4-H’ers may use a visual to assist them with their project interview. In the 11th or 12th grade scores are based on 75% records and 25% horse project interview. Level I winners will compete for a $500 scholarship to the University of Tennessee and Level II will compete for a trip to National 4-H Congress in Atlanta, Georgia.

Youth in grades 7 and 8 can apply to 4-H Academic Conference by submitting a copy of their Horse record book and an application to their District Offices. Two winners in each District will participate in a State Conference held at the University of Tennessee.

2025-2026 Horse Express Meeting Information

2025-2026 Hippology and Horse Bowl Information

For more information contact Morgan Hacker via email at EXT-WilsonCo@utk.edu or call 615-444-9584

Forms

2025 AQHA Rulebook

Tennessee 4-H Horse Handbook

2026 Wilson County Horse Show Registration and Show Bill – *Show has been cancelled

2026 Regional Horse Show Packet, Class List and Entry Form

2026 State Horse Show information and forms are available on the State Horse Show Website

2026 Show & Judging Results

Regional Horse Show

State Horse Show

Regional Horse Judging -Jr.

Regional Horse Judging – Jr. High

Regional Horse Judging -Sr. High

State Horse Judging

Eastern National Horse Judging

Regional Hippology -Jr., Jr. High and Sr. High

State Hippology – Sr. High

Regional Horse Bowl -Jr.

Regional Horse Bowl -Jr. High

Regional Horse Bowl -Sr. High

2026 Important Dates

Regional Hippology/Horse Bowl Contest – Saturday, January 17, 2026 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, TN.

Regional Horse Judging Contest – Tuesday, March 31, 2026 at the MTSU Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro, TN.

Wilson County Horse Show – *Has been cancelled

Regional Horse Show – May 28-30, 20226 – MTSU Miller Coliseum in Murfreesboro, TN.

State Horse Show – June 23-26, 2026 – National Walking Horse Celebration Grounds in Shelbyville, TN.

Forms

2026 Show & Judging Results

​2026 Important Dates

2026 Important Dates