Platte County 4-H’ers win big at state Showcase Showdown

LARAMIE — Fourteen Platte County 4-H’ers put their skills to the test at the annual 4-H Showcase Showdown held in Laramie on June 26-28.  
The Showcase Showdown is a statewide event, bringing over 300 4-H members from across the state to the University of Wyoming campus for three days of contests, workshops and fun. The annual event features competitions in cake decorating, food cook-off, table setting, produce judging, livestock skill-a-thon, dog skill-a-thon, prepared and impromptu presentations, robotics, horse judging and hippology. In addition to statewide contests, Showcase Showdown features a number of informational workshops ranging in topics, awards ceremonies, and the always popular dance.  
Platte County 4-H’ers participated in five different contests throughout the event: horse judging, hippology, robotics, food cook-off and presentations.
Rebecca Christiansen, Bobijo Cordingly, Raegan Harnish, Rachel Hill, Lilliana Hogan, Kloe Huseas, Tess Palen, Dyllan Pederson, Tilly Pederson, Madison Sanborn and Maria (last name withheld) participated in the horse judging and hippology contests, testing their knowledge of horses. Participants must be knowledgeable about showing horses, the horse industry, horse care, breeds, history, and many other topics related to horses.  

The food cook-off contest measures members’ skills in the kitchen, where Gracie Benson and Teagan Holtzclaw created a tasty dish to wow the judges.
William Knowlton showcased his public speaking skills with confidence in the presentations contest. Knowlton also gave the robotics contest a try; it requires members to build and program robots to complete tasks in competition with others.  
In addition, Platte County 4-H’ers, under the direction of dedicated leaders Jean and Sam Hammond, hosted a wildly popular educational workshop about horse bowl for 4-H’ers across the state.
“All of our kids did great,” said horse bowl and hippology coach Sam Hammond. “They all experienced a contest (hippology) new to them.  We are super proud of all these kids. They put a lot of effort into learning. and it shows.”  
Overall, it was a great few days for Platte County 4-H’ers, bringing home a number of accolades while having fun.  
Anyone interested in the 4-H Showcase Showdown or the 4-H program should contact Stacy Buchholz at the Platte County Extension Office, 307-322-3667 or stacy@uwyo.edu.