CORVALLIS, Ore. — M’Kenzie Kirchner was filled with excitement as soon as she heard the word “Oregon.”
“I thought it was Jessica,” Kirchner said, recalling the moment she thought her 4-H horse judging teammate Jessica Sperber had won the conformation class at last fall’s Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup. “She was on fire all weekend.”
Sperber had done well, finishing third overall at the annual contest held in Louisville, Kentucky, in early November. But in this class, Kirchner was the winner, edging out the second-place finisher by a single point.
“It was a very exciting experience to represent my state in a national competition,” said Kirchner, a 2021 graduate of Newport High School.
Kirchner was proud to bring home the award for Oregon 4-H, a program of the Oregon State University Extension Service.
Strong finishes for Oregon 4-H
The Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup was one of two national competitions last fall in which Oregon 4-H’ers competed. The National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference – also held in Louisville in November – featured contests ranging from poultry judging to chicken and turkey barbecue.
At the horse roundup, Oregon 4-H earned three team top-10 finishes:
- Second place in horse bowl, a quiz bowl-style contest.
- Third place in horse judging.
- 10th place in hippology, which measures knowledge of horse science, conformation, performance and husbandry.
Four Clackamas County horse bowl members placed in the top 10 individually: Kaydilayne Weikel (fourth), Jasmine Fairchild (fifth), Joie Ellington (sixth) and Theo Nunn (10th).
Other Oregon highlights included:
- Bailey Vernam of Enterprise, ninth overall in public speaking.
- Rachael Vorster of Benton County, 10th overall in hippology.
- Kirchner and teammate Desi Hanson (Deschutes County), eighth and ninth in horse judging “reasons,” which score how well competitors explain their judging decisions.
Behind the scenes of horse judging
Horse judging begins before dawn in a cold arena, explained Debi Warnock, 4-H faculty in Wallowa County who chaperoned the trip. Competitors observe eight classes, take notes, and turn in scorecards. Later, they orally present their reasoning without notes or peer discussion.
“They pay attention to how the rider and horse work together, and they’re also learning the basics of what it takes to find a good horse,” Warnock said.
Kirchner, who grew up in Toledo and bought her first horse with her own savings, said her success came from years of experience and coaching.
Her coach, Oregon 4-H alumna Holly Silvey, competes on the horse judging team at Texas A&M University and began coaching the Oregon team in 2021.
“Holly knows what words and phrases judges are looking for,” Kirchner said. “She helped us be much more methodical. You want it to all flow from head to tail.”
Silvey, who competed at the same roundup in 2017, said she loves coaching.
“The 4-H program has given me everything in my life,” she said. “I feel like it’s my duty to give back.”
Public speaking success
Bailey Vernam of Enterprise knows when she has captured an audience. At the roundup, that moment came during her speech on horses in mythology.
She described the kelpie, a mythical Scottish water horse that traps riders and drowns them before tearing apart the body, leaving only the liver.
“When you say something like that, watching their faces react, I’m like, ‘OK, I got you,’” she said.
Vernam’s talk was recorded and can be viewed on YouTube. A senior at Enterprise High School, she said she’s always been comfortable speaking to groups and wants more people to know about 4-H public speaking.
Oregon team competes in poultry conference
The week before Thanksgiving, Oregon 4-H’ers from Deschutes, Benton and Linn counties competed at the National 4-H Poultry and Egg Conference.
The avian bowl team finished sixth, winning its opening match against Kansas before losing to Minnesota and eventual champion Alabama.
Team members included captain Luke Milburn (Linn County), Ace Bozievich (Benton), Julia Weldon (Benton), Trinity Serafin (Benton) and Trinity Reistad (Benton). Milburn also placed fifth in poultry judging as an individual.
“It was an amazing trip,” said coach Jennifer Milburn, Luke’s mother. “The kids were phenomenal. It was the first time we went to compete as a team, so we wanted to learn and just have fun. We were really happy with the outcome and the whole experience.”
Oregon 4-H boasts several top-10 results at national horse, poultry contests
