On September 10, 4-H members from all over Virginia arrived at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington for the 4H State Horse Show. Among them were three sophomores from Fluvanna High School: Mallory Wentz, Newlin Humphrey, and Lauren Kirby.

Wentz got fourth place in the first class of the Horse Pleasure category, then missed the second class due to being sick. The horse she rode is called “Art of War” or “Artie,” a Thoroughbred gelding. “I felt very mixed emotions after receiving my white fourth place ribbon,” Wentz said. “Honestly, I was at a loss for words, all in all. This horse, in particular, was a Kelley Farmer [top hunter rider] reject due to him blowing a stifle [a joint in the leg] two years ago…so he has not been in the show ring for two long years and this past weekend was very overwhelming for him,” she added.

However, according to Wentz, Artie rose to the challenge. “I was very shocked by my placing, and could not believe it when we were announced for fourth. I thought going in there and even placing was out of the question, but it turns out we did the impossible…I walked out of the ring with a huge smile on my face. It was a good class and I was very proud of Artie,” she said.

Meanwhile, Humphrey got two firsts and Champion of Horse Pleasure, getting through to Pleasure Classics, in which she got fourth. In Equitation, Humphrey once again took the blue first place ribbon, and in Equitation Classics, she got called back because the judge was undecided. Getting called back is a huge honor, and Humphrey ended up in fourth place on the Thoroughbred gelding called “Such A Gentleman” or “Thor.”

“It was definitely something to be proud of. I’ve worked so hard this year and it is such a wonderful feeling to watch all of it pay off. I couldn’t have been happier with the way my horse and I performed,” said Humphrey.

The third Fluco, Lauren Kirby, went on a green (or not fully-trained) Thoroughbred mare named “Enchantment” or “Sterling” and got one second and one fifth in Horse Pleasure. She had a hack-off (a competition resulting from a tie) for Reserve Champion, and ended up losing that and getting third overall due to Sterling getting nervous at one end. In Equitation, Kirby got another fifth.

“I was really proud of Sterling because she did better than we thought she would in a class with twenty other people. She has come so far and I could not be more proud of how well she did. She spooked in Equitation, but recovered amazingly. I am happy with what we got and will work harder to hopefully do even better next year,” said Kirby.