Excellence is rooted deep within GRC, especially in the agriculture pathway.
From being a three-star national chapter to now being state champions in horse evaluation, GRC’s FFA program has shown time and time again that hardwork and dedication pays off.
The Kentucky FFA State Equine Contest was held at Murray State and it consisted of different classes of horses that FFA students had to judge as well as a test over student’s general horse knowledge. Students had to give impromptu speeches with reasoning that justified their judging.
“These are skills that students can use outside of the classroom when it comes to selecting a horse,” said FFA Advisor Terra Pigg. “The skills learned will help assist them in that process.”
Mrs. Pigg chose students who are heavily involved in FFA to attend and participate in this contest — Allison Asherwood, Taylor Cavill, Cole Horn, and Olivia Warner.
“I have always had a deep passion for horses,” said Warner. “When Mrs. Pigg brought it to my attention about an Equine Judging contest, I was stoked to have the opportunity to compete in it.”
Students learn about equine judging in Equine Science class here at GRC. Those who perform well in the class and are involved in FFA asked to attend field days to practice for potentially performing in the state contest.
“We practiced judging classes online and students competed in practice contests last spring during field days,” said Pigg.
The competition has allowed for students to do things outside of their usual focus areas within FFA.
“Growing up on my family farm I have been around livestock my whole life, but we mainly farm beef cattle,” said Horn. “This competition has given me the opportunity to grow as an agriculturalist and learn more about an area that otherwise I wouldn’t have been interested in.”
GRC’s students came home with an overall first place win in the horse evaluation category. In the individual category, Warner placed second overall, Horn placed 13th, Cavill placed 14th, and Asherwood placed 25th.
“The contest helped me better my knowledge on horses and become closer with the other people in my group,” said Asherwood
Cavill agreed.
“I have always had a deep love for horses, so when Mrs. Pigg mentioned a horse judging contest, I was super excited to be able to compete,” said Cavill. “This experience has strengthened my friendships with the team members, given me a big step further up into the horse world, and let me grow as a person.”
Thanks to their excellence, these students will go on to compete on the national scale in 2025.
“I am very excited to be able to go further and practice more to hopefully win a national competition,” said Horn.
