Manhattan FFA Chapter members competed in a horse judging competition on Wednesday, Oct. 15. During the nearly two hour drive to Beloit, all 15 members practiced their horse placement reasonings for the contest.

According to National FFA, “In the Horse Evaluation CDE, students evaluate and rank horses based on breed characteristics, conformation, and performance. As a team, they cooperatively solve problems related to equine selection, management, nutrition and production.”

Students had to identify the breed and markings on each horse. They then had to judge a variety of classes, including performance and halter.

Competition aides brought out horses in groups of three for breed identification and groups of four for selective class judging.

They then had to rank the group of horses from one to four, and provide an oral reasoning as to why they placed them that way at the end of the competition. The combined score of the top three individuals of each team of four were the group’s score.

“We judged horses based on balance, structural correctness, muscling, movement, and attitude,” junior Corrinna Bishop said.

The contest was held in a quiet setting; no competitors were allowed to talk. Horses were brought out in groups of four for judging in six different sets.

“I expected there to be more horses than what there was, but they were really nice horses,” junior Jayve Salinas said. “The most difficult part was giving reasons to the judges, we had to say the placings in a certain way. I forgot a few times.”

The students that judged expected to be in a heated arena for the contest, and were disappointed to find themselves outside. After they were finished with judging, they were cold, tired and hungry, but satisfied with what they had accomplished.

“We learned not only how to judge horses, but how to choose the best horse,” sophomore Hayden Prawl said. “[I think that] the hardest part was watching how they move because they move so quickly, it’s sometimes hard to see.”

Bishop agrees that the contest was challenging and agrees with Salinas that the oral reasonings at the conclusion of the contest were the most difficult.

“The verbal reasoning was the most difficult. It was hard to remember the order of which [horses] were best,” Bishop said. “The easiest part was deciding which horse was the worst.”