TUNBRIDGE, Vt. — Nine 4-H’ers from Vermont and New Hampshire gathered at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds on May 13 to hone their skills handling and showing working steers.
University of Vermont (UVM) Extension 4-H sponsored the event, which was attended by Vermont 4-H’ers Alyson Ballou, West Fairlee; Landon Campbell and Krystin Skoda, both from Randolph; Amanda Ferris, Braintree; Caleb Morvan, Northfield; Megan Taylor, East Randolph; and Shawn Whitney, Chelsea. Austin Hatch and Davey Smith, both from Madison, New Hampshire, and members of the Carroll County Clovers 4-H Club, also participated in the day-long workshop.
The event, which included a potluck lunch, offered expert one-on-one instruction in several areas, designed to better prepare the 4-H’ers to successfully enter their teams in working steer shows. Participants learned proper clipping techniques, how to hitch a team to a two-wheeled ox cart and maneuver through a series of obstacles and how to get their teams to respond to basic commands to pull a stone boat, a type of sled for moving heavy objects.
The workshop was organized by UVM Extension 4-H livestock educator Wendy Sorrell. Instructors were Tom Cole, South Ryegate; Rob Hatch, Madison, New Hampshire; and Nick Stone, Barnard.
Vermont currently has five working steer 4-H clubs: Backwoods Teamsters, Ryegate; Green Mountain Grazers, Addison; Green Mountain Teamsters, Pomfret; Hooves and Horns, Randolph; and the Northern Vermont Working Steer 4-H Club, West Fairlee. To learn more about the 4-H working steer project in Vermont, contact Wendy Sorrell at (802) 651-8343, ext. 513, or wendy.sorrell@uvm.edu.
–UVM Extension
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