BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Horsing around can get some children in trouble with their parents, but when there’s a literal horse involved, it can lead to championship belt buckles.
Sisters Saylor Rhoden, 11, and Ryleigh Rhoden, 17, earned the grand-championship and reserve grand-championship belt buckles, respectively, in Versatility at the 4-H Area North Horse Show, which was held last month at the Clay County Fairgrounds in Green Cove Springs.
The siblings were two of four youth who represented the Horsing Around Bradford County 4-H club at the show. Raegan Luke and Mason Stone also competed, with Stone earning the reserve grand championship in the Ranch class.
The show consisted of youth representing 35 counties.
Kara Rhoden, the mother of Ryleigh and Saylor and the leader of the Horsing Around club, said, “Bradford is one of the smallest counties that competed at Area.” She added, “There are equestrians here in 4-H who are working really hard.”
The four Horsing Around members all qualified for the 4-H state show, which will be held July 13-15 at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa.
Placing in Versatility
To earn one of the championships in Versatility, you must score high enough in multiple classes. In Saylor’s case, she placed first in Trail and was second in Western Pleasure, Ground Handling and Keyhole. She also earned third place in Showmanship.
Ryleigh took first in Speed Ground Handling and was second in Ranch Trail, Ranch Roping and Hunter Under Saddle. She also placed fourth in Horsemanship.
“In my opinion, that’s the most sought-after thing because it’s the most challenging thing,” Kara said of winning a championship in Versatility.
Ryleigh didn’t mind placing second to her younger sister.
“That was pretty awesome,” she said of Saylor’s performance. “I honestly didn’t believe it. I was super proud of her just because she’s so young, and she hasn’t been doing it as long as I have. She’s excelling so well so fast.”
Kara Rhoden, who is the sisters’ mother, said Ryleigh gets a lot of credit in how well Saylor performed.
“She taught her younger sister most of what she knows,” Kara said, who noted that Saylor won her championship on the horse that was passed down to her from Ryleigh.
Kara said her daughters haven’t decided if they want to go for Versatility at the state show. It’s a lot of work and can be hectic competing in multiple classes, which require you to be at different arenas at different times.
Dress requirements may also differ from one class to the next.
“They don’t want you to have the poised, English hunter-jumper look in the Ranch class,” Kara said. “If you’re in the Ranch class, they want you to look like you’re going out onto a ranch.”
Ryleigh laughed about trying to keep up with where you’re supposed to be and what you’re supposed to be wearing, saying that when she showed up for the Hunter Under Saddle class, her shirt wasn’t buttoned properly.
“Somebody had to tell me to fix my shirt,” she said.
Her performance in that class was a pleasant surprise, considering she was competing with a 4-year-old horse.
“We actually ended up placing second out of seven, which I was not expecting. I thought we weren’t even going to place,” Ryleigh said, adding, “I was almost in tears.”
Ryleigh actually competed with two different horses, so saddling up which horse she was going to use for a certain event added to the hectic nature of the day.
“It was extremely stressful for me,” she said.
Ryleigh, though, feels right at home working with horses. She’s been around them her whole life and looks forward to an internship with a horse trainer this summer.
“That is definitely something I want to pursue,” Ryleigh said.
Big sis is happy that her little sis has followed in her footsteps. Besides teaching her most of what she knows, Ryleigh said she has also offered this particular piece of advice to Saylor: “Once you find what you love to do, stick with it.”
4-H: a different horse experience
She may be versatile, but Ryleigh said her favorite show classes are those that involve ranch skills.
“It’s a dying breed, honestly — ranch work and stuff,” Ryleigh said. “That’s what I typically do. The ranch stuff — working with cows and roping.”
Between the ranch-related classes and those devoted to English-style riding, 4-H offers a horse experience that’s a little different from the one most people in the area are involved in.
“Barrel racing is big in this town,” Kara said, “but this is a different discipline than barrel racing, even though that is an aspect of it.”
Kara said 4-H has a lot of rules regarding its horse events, most of which are centered around safety, which she appreciates. Not everyone does, though.
“Unfortunately, that deters a lot of kids in this county,” Kara said. “They don’t want to wear a helmet.”
The interest is there, though. Ryleigh remembers when she was the only one from Bradford County competing at the 4-H Area North Show.
“We’ve kind of pulled some people in with us,” said Kara, who expressed her gratitude to the UF/IFAS Cooperative Extension of Bradford County for its support of her in leading a 4-H horse club.
As a senior-age 4-H member, Ryleigh has the right to qualify for the Southern Regional 4-H Horse Championships, which will be held in Perry, Georgia. She qualified for the regional show the last two years, but didn’t compete one year because she didn’t feel she and her horse were quite ready for that type of event and didn’t compete the other year because Kara had been in a riding accident.
Speaking of the prospect of qualifying and competing in this year’s show, Ryleigh said, “It would mean so much, especially with my horse that I have now because I’ve worked so hard with him.”
Whatever happens, it has already been a notable year for the Rhoden family, as proven by the two 4-H Area North Horse Show Versatility championship buckles that now reside in their household.
“It’s pretty cool that the sisters walked away with them,” Kara said.
