Pennsylvania 4-H’ers are making safety a priority

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Two Pennsylvania 4-H members and two 4-H clubs were recently recognized for their achievements in the Pennsylvania 4-H Safety Awards Program at the Pennsylvania 4-H Horse Forum held at Penn State and the Days Inn of State College March 2-4.
Fair safety. Jaimee Anderson of the Trailblazers 4-H club in Venango County placed first for her work to promote safety during the Venango County Fair.
She installed horse first aid kits and horse safety signs for visitors in the horse barns at the fairgrounds.
She also installed fire extinguishers in each barn and designed a brochure with horse safety tips and activities that were passed out to children upon entering the fair.
Amanda Hoade of the Mainland Equestrian 4-H club in Montgomery County placed second with her safety project. She is a junior firefighter and her program was focused on barn fire prevention.
She developed a PowerPoint presentation to give to her 4-H club and to other clubs in her county.
Club awards. The Spurs ‘N’ Burrs 4-H club of Bucks County was honored with first place in the club/group category. The club was involved with an extensive barn safety and barn fire prevention program.
The program included involvement of the local fire companies. The firefighters provided training on safe barn maintenance practices as well as on proper hay storage. Barn safety check lists were also distributed throughout the county.
The Montgomery County 4-H Horse Program placed second with its safety program. The club promoted the 4-H horsemanship skills program throughout the county to improve ground handling, riding skills and general horse safety practices.
Prizes. The individual award winners received a safety halter as well as $50. The second place winners received $25. The clubs each received $50 and $25 for their respective placings.
In addition, first-place winners received complimentary registration for the 4-H Horse Forum.
The safety awards program is an educational program to promote safety by recognizing the efforts of youth and adults in creating and delivering equine safety programs.
For additional information on 4-H horse programs in Pennsylvania, contact county Penn State Cooperative Extension offices or visit the Pennsylvania 4-H Horse Program Web site at www.das.psu.edu. Click on 4-H programs, then horses.