Sue Sitter/PCT Participants in the Pierce/Benson County Hippology Contest judge a horse shown by volunteer Kindra Guty.

Horse enthusiasts age eight to 18 met in Maddock to test their knowledge and compete against teams from all over North Dakota for the Pierce/Benson County 4-H Hippology Contest April 10.

One Pierce County team, a junior group consisting of three students from Ely and Little Flower Elementary schools, came to the contest fresh from a win at Valley City. Team members Morgan Scherr, Addi Mack and Elizabeth Hurly took first place at the 4-H Winter Show, according to their coach, Sandra Scherr.

The junior, intermediate and senior Pierce County teams would each take first place in the April 10 competition over teams from nine other North Dakota counties.

“It’s such a cool program. This is actually my and my daughter’s first year,” Scherr, who’s Morgan’s mom, said.

“Hippology means the study of the horse, so they’re studying horse science,” Scherr said. “It’s equine management; the safety, the welfare and the ethics of the horse industry.”

“We have three teams and I am the junior coach,” Scherr added. “We have three coaches, one for each team. Dianne Randle is the intermediate coach. Then, Barb Rice is the senior coach. She’s out of Maddock.”

Rice is a veterinarian in Benson County. She coached a team of high school seniors that took the 4-H national hippology title in 2019.

Rice said she has coached hippology teams in Benson County “I think 19 (years) or thereabouts. I coach the senior team.”

Rice said she was “excited” about the senior team’s prospects in competition this year. The team spends hours studying all aspects of horses, from their care to detailed information about their anatomy.

“When I read (the contest materials), I understand all the terminology, so I guess it helps to teach it,” Rice said. “I definitely like the program.”

“The (juniors) have gone to a lot of contests and the older kids are so busy it’s hard to get them to go to contests,” Rice added. “The seniors actually have gone to a couple (of contests). We’ve gone to Valley City and we’ve gone to a virtual contest, so I guess we’ve gone to three so far,” Rice noted.

“I think we’re starting to get back into it,” Rice said. “It was hard at the beginning because of COVID but I think now that it’s in person again and all that kind of stuff, we’ve had lots of good practices and the kids are working really hard and I’m proud of them and love working with them.”

One of Rice’s former national champions, Marit Wang, volunteered to help at the contest during her break from college. A junior at Colorado State University, Wang said she has been applying to veterinary schools this year. “If everything goes all right, I’ll be in veterinary school the fall of 2022,” Wang said, adding, “I love the program. This program has gotten me everywhere in life. It’s the reason I want to go to vet school; it’s the reason I chose to go to college for what I’m going for.”

“I started on the (Benson County) 4-H hippology team when I was a freshman in high school and I continued until I was a freshman in college,” Wang said. “It has given me so many life skills. I think the world of this program and that’s why I’m here today helping out. I just can’t stay away from it. I think it’s a great educational program for anybody who’s interested in horses. It really means the world to me.”

Wang said she enjoys encouraging young participants at competitions. “I think it’s really important to have coaches and volunteers that are really enthusiastic about it. So, that’s why I try to be enthusiastic and encouraging with them because I hope they stick with it because it can give them a lot in life,” she said.

Scherr said the hippology competitions have four phases.

“One is the examination phase and that is a test of basic hippology questions that have to do with feed, or management skills, or riding skills or anatomy. Then, a station phase will have pictures or equipment and you have to label what they are. Then, a judging phase, which is the horse phase,” Scherr said. “Sometimes, it’s with live horses that we use.”

The final phase of the competition involves a team problem.

“They’ll be given a problem and they have about 10 minutes to discuss it with each other, then they go to a judge and explain what they’d do in a given situation. Each (contestant) has a part to do.

Scherr said other competitions have teams judge virtual horses.

Participants in the April 10 contest had the opportunity to judge live horses brought by Pierce County volunteer Kindra Guty.

“It’s just all about horses,” Scherr noted. “With the junior team, the first thing they want them to learn is the color of horses. Then, you go to the different breeds of horses. Then, you go into the anatomy and you learn how the digestive tract works, how the bones work, what part of the horse is where. And that is what my juniors are learning right now,” Scherr added. “That’s what we study all the time.

“Then, as you get deeper (into the program), the (difficulty) level goes up. The seniors are learning about reproduction and cellular division and what muscles do what,” Scherr said.

The junior competitors on the Pierce County team said they enjoyed the contest in Maddock. “It was because I like live horses better and I like to see my goal and try to beat my own goals,” Mack said.

Mack and her teammate, Morgan Scherr, said they liked “doing stations” in the competition. “It’s kind of different from a test,” Scherr said.

“You have to write down your answers on a piece of paper, then you go to the next station,” Mack said.

Scherr said she felt proud of her first-place team. Scherr also placed first among individual scores in the April 10 contest. “I feel pretty proud of myself,” she added.

“I’m pretty happy that we stepped up and studied and were able to get first place,” Mack said. Mack finished the April 10 contest with a third-place individual score.

Hurly, the third member of the team, agreed. “I’m really happy we got first place. There haven’t been very many competitions that we’ve been in.” Hurly’s individual score put her in fourth place.

For individual scores at the intermediate level, Kami Guty scored in first place, while Katelyn Mattern placed seventh. In the senior competition, Kendra Leier took first place, while Mika Guty took second.

“Our girls did amazing and we are so proud of them,” Scherr said. “They placed first in Senior, Junior and Intermediate Team Divisions. This is where they work as a team to answer a problem posed by the judges.”

“This couldn’t be possible without the amazing donors: Rugby Eagles-Rugby, BPS Plumbing-Rugby, M&M Repair-Balta, Viking Saddlery- Anoka,MN, and Rice Aviation- Maddock,” Scherr added. “Thank you to all the volunteers who worked the floor, scoring and kitchen. Also a huge thanks to the Guty Family for bringing the horses for live judging.”

“Due to Covid restrictions the 4-Hers haven’t been able to do live judging, so this was an awesome treat for them,” Scherr added.

Scherr said the hippology program is open to youth in Pierce County whether they’re horse owners or not.

“You don’t have to have a horse,” Scherr said. “You just have to love horses.”

More information about hippology and other 4-H programs is available on Facebook at Pierce County 4-H-ND, or by calling 776-6234.