State 4-H Horse Show: Advance Access To Show Patterns Creates Positive Experiences

 

 

The South Dakota State 4-H Horse show is an opportunity for youth to demonstrate new and improved horsemanship skills. Despite the fact that the event is designed to be youth-oriented and that it involves horses, horse shows can, at times, provide a source of stress for contestants. One possible cause for stress is that youth need to learn horse show patterns; historically, these patterns were often posted within hours of the start of the show.

 

 

Over the past several years, there has been a shift in the horse show industry with patterns being posted online in advance of the horse show. In 2012, patterns for the South Dakota State 4-H Horse Show were posted in advance of the show on HorseShowPatterns.com. An online survey was made available to youth and adults who participate in, or were connected with the show about their thoughts on accessing the patterns.

 

Youth and adult survey respondents reported a minimization of negative feelings such as stress and anxiety, and an increase in positive indicators for youth such as the ability to perform and to have fun at the show. Youth indicated that advanced access to patterns enabled them to perform better, and affected their ability to learn the patterns and ability to show. In summary, 98% of youth and 95% of adults who responded to the survey preferred early access to horse show patterns.