By: Paige Jones, Paulding FFA Reporter
After many late nights studying and practicing, the Paulding equine team attended finals on April 26th at The Ohio State Fairgrounds. The team consists of Jordyn Merriman, Riley Noffsinger, Lonna Saylor, and Jen Stahl. As part of the contest they must judge a confirmation class and performance class. In the confirmation class, they must judge the horse on how it looks and the way it is built. In the performance class, they judge the horse on its showing ability and its responsiveness to the rider. Then they must take a test on horse anatomy. Then they identify tack forages, feeds, and different parasites that a horse could get. At state finals, the equine team was required to give oral reasons on the performance and confirmation classes. They competed in a team event where they had to tie knots, put together a bridal, identify bits, and respond to a scenario of how they would manage to get a horse for a child joining 4-H. Overall the team placed 4th in the state with Jen Stahl placing 2nd individually. This means that the team will move on to compete at the Big E in September in Massachusetts. This was an amazing accomplishment for this team and for the Paulding FFA chapter. Good luck at the Big E in September, the Paulding FFA is very proud of each of you!!
