SUMMIT STATION - While most of the festivities at the 29th annual Schuylkill County Fair won't begin until Monday, about 30 local equestrians gathered at the fairgrounds Saturday morning for the annual County Round Up 4-H Horse and Pony Show.
"Today, it's a culmination of their animal project throughout the year - the training, feeding, caring, breeding," Briana Shealer, show steward and 4-H educator and coordinator for the Penn State extension. "It all culminates with showing them off at these events."
All other farm animals will be judged throughout the week at the fair, while Saturday's horse and pony competition determined who will be eligible to participate in the Regional 4-H Horse and Pony Show at the Lake Equestrian Center in Lake Ariel on Aug. 19. The top three in each category will qualify. Judging this year was Pam Wuest.
"It's a good turnout for today," Shealer said. "About half are therapeutic club members and half are traditional club members."
Participating clubs included Bridle Wild, 4-H/UCP Therapeutic Riding Club and the Schuylkill Coal Crackers 4-H Horse Club.
The therapeutic club is affiliated with Avenues.
"It's really nice that they are able to do that," said Connie Cunningham, show committee member, 4-H development board member and horse volunteer/leader. "It's really therapeutic and they really bond with the horses."
Cunningham said this year's event was pretty competitive and that some of the riders will be showing off their horses all week at the fair.
While the numbers may be a few less this year compared to last year, Shealer and Cunningham said the numbers have been pretty consistent over the years.
"I think the economy has a lot to do with it," Shealer said. "It's an expensive hobby to care for these animals. It's not like a cat or a dog and they are not sold like other farm animals."
Shealer said she has been involved with 4-H since she was eight years old and a lot of the kids entering the program are children of people she was a club member with.
"They love it," Shealer said. "Some of the kids are torn with sports, but what we have is that some take a year off and then come back. We ask them why and they say it is because it is so much fun. The kids keep coming back. That's rare with other programs."
Serving as ring steward Saturday, Emily Stemmler, 18, is one of those kids. She just graduated from Blue Mountain High School and will be attending Kutztown University in the fall. She started and coordinates a competitive trail riding club through the 4-H program.
"4-H has introduced me to that sport," Stemmler said. "That is the reason I got interested in it. This is how I started riding horses in general."
Stemmler said she is participating in a competitive trail riding competition this weekend in Canada.
The state 4-H program will be celebrating 100 years at the Schuylkill County Fair.
Shealer said that although there are only 10 clubs in the local program, each club has about 30 members, which is more than most other affiliations.
"We still have the traditional core programs that we started with 100 years ago," Shealer said. "That is what we based our program off of and I'm proud to say that they are still here."
Shealer said she is looking to expand the program with more urban-styled clubs.
For more information about the Schuylkill Fair or the 4-H Penn State extension, visit www.schuylkillfair.com or www.extension.psu.edu/4-h.