Contributed by Muscatine FFA

MUSCATINE, Iowa–On June 13, Muscatine FFA’s horse judging team and middle school horse judging team competed at the state competition. Each demonstrated excellent knowledge of horses, with the horse judging team earning a silver rating and the middle school team receiving third gold overall and first in performance. Cara Eichelberger earned fourth place individually on the middle school team as well.

The Muscatine FFA horse judging teams. High school (alphabetically): Eladiee Gaucin, Jaylynn Goddard, Kelsey Heath, and Addy Weggen. Middle school (alphabetically): Essie Buster, Cara Eichelberger, Aliviah Lake. and Alexis Wilder, Photo courtesy of Muscatine FFA.

In horse judging, students illustrated their knowledge of horses in several ways. Individually they placed horses in halter and performance classes based on several factors. They then orally justified several of their choices and answered the judges’ questions about them. As a team, they completed a problem-solving activity where they answered multiple-choice questions about all aspects of horses, including their care, different breeds, gear and facilities used, health maintenance, breeding, and more. They also identified pieces of tack.