Three teams represented South Dakota at the annual 4H Western National Roundup in Denver last week, from January 8th through the 10th.

The Hippology team consisted of Lila Stutzman of Bon Homme, Josey Nold of Brookings and Tarynn Torsney of Bon Homme. Hippology is the studyofhorses.Whyisitcalled Hippologyyouask?Hippoisthe Greek word meaning “horse” and ology is “the study of”. Hippologyincludesthestudyof horse anatomy, diseases, parasites, reproduction, the horse industry, breeds, genetics and more. There are four stages of competition with individual placings as follows: 1.Written Exam of 100 questions and 50 slides; 2nd place, Lila Stutzman, 4th place Tarynn Torsney, 10th place Josey Nold 2.Stations phase; 5th place Lila Stutzman, 7th place Josey Nold 3.Judging phase; 2nd place Josey Nold 4.TeamQuestions;Theteam gives a problem-solving talk whereeachteammembermust contribute to the answer. They had four questions ranging from breeding and reproduction to the Horse Protection Act of 2025. The Team placed Second in Team questions! Utah was 1st.

Overall Individual scores were as follows; Lila Stutzman was 5th, Josey Nold 8th and Tarynn Torsney 10th.

Our SD team placed 3rd Overall at Nationals! Very excited for them and their hard work and dedication.

The Horse Judging Team consisted of Hayden Talsma, Bon Homme, Sam Hansen, Woonsocket, Hensley Talsma, Bon Homme and Arryanna Schnetzer, Bon Homme. This team judged six performance classes, such as reining and ranch riding classes, four conformation classes and had to give four sets of oral reasons. It was a full day.

Hayden Talsma place 9th Overall Individual in the performance classes.

The Team took home 10th place Overall Team in both Performance and Reasons! Another awesome representation of South Dakota on the National scene.

The Horse Quiz Bowl Team took 4th place home from Nationals. Their members include: Kalle Vitek, Abby and Elle Goehring and Cash Martinez,allfromHutchinson County. Elle Goehring was 5th placeOverallindividual.Horse quiz bowl is thinking on your feet and under pressure. It is the quickest response with the right answer. So good to see all these teams represented at Nationals from SD. It takes a lot of study time to get this far!

I want to thank all the parents, coaches, and team members for all their time and hardworktomaketheseteams possible.