Bio-Lancntor PartiMg, Saturday, July it, IM4 __
rv
York
JOYCE BUPP
York County Correspondent
DELTA (York Co.) With
long, sweeping strokes, Susan
Richardson moved the buzzing
clippers up and down the side of a
dairy heifer, standing patiently
amid a lineup of calves and clus
ters of 4-H (members.
“I’m learning to body clip,”
said an 11-year-old from Fawn
Grove, preparing for her second
year of 4-H dairy project showing.
“I need to know how to do this so I
can clip my two Holstein heifers.”
'lp*.
“Not too much off the top,” this Brown Swiss heifer may
be telling Heather Crowl as she trims the calf’s head.
Team leader George Ki . Jr. shows senior 4-H’er Dixie Doll some of the flnTr
points of shoulder clipping during the York County 4-H fitting and showmanship ®' d ®f* sh ® bod^ C,, P #durinfltheworksh °P ,ltl,n BP ractlce
workshop. session. (
4-H’ers Practice Dairy Exhibitor Skills
Nearly 30 York County 4-H
dairy members turned out recently
for the annual fitting
showmanship workshop, held at
the Delta farm of Dan and Patti
Hushon.
Separated by age into groups of
four or five members, each group
was led by an experienced adult or
senior 4-H leader who demon
strated and explained proper clip
ping techniques.
“I’m learning to use a smaller
clipper on the neck and a big clip
per to do the other parts,” said
Dan Hushon ex{ iS to his fitting-practice group the difference between various
types of cattle clippers.
8-year-old Nicole Marks, Airville.
Nicole, a first-year or Cloverbud
dairy exhibitor, said she had
clipped one heifer at home in the
past.
Following a morning of clip
ping practice, members moved to
a show-ring setting for demonstra
tions and hands-on practice of
showmanship techniques. Older,
more experienced 4-H members
were paired with beginners, who
learned how to walk, stand and set
up their animals to best display the
heifers’ type qualities.
“We’ve been doing this for sev
eral years, but this is the first year
we have ever had more than one
person to demonstrate, so that we
could break down into smaller
groups like this,” said dairy exten
sion agent Jerry Myers.
‘The purpose is to teach the
4-H’ers different skills in fitting
and showmanship and also some
of the basics in evaluatine and
selecting dairy animals,” he said
“As a dairyman, a person must be
able to evaluate animals in a herd.
It also helps teach animal care and
comfort.”
The focus of the workshop, said
Myers, was not on winning but on
participation and learning. At the
completion of the workshop, each
4-H participant received a rope
halter, donated by sponsors of die
event.
Workshop group leaders were
adults Jamie Hartman, Dan
Hushon, Scott Cooper, Don
Avery, George Knight, and senior
4-H’er Brad Walker.
Participants included Shane and
James Kitner, Lisa Jones; Joseph,
Jacob and Josh Hushon; Marshall
Heaps; Nicole and Erin Maries;
Angie Beshore; and Kimberly,
Stephanie, and Jessica Pomraning.
Also, Brian and Sara Greek, Kyle
Bitzer, Jacob and Ben Smith,
Jason Arnold, Michelle and Greg
Walker, Katie Shoemaker, Jesse
and Jason Stambaugh, Curt Calp,
Heather Crowl, Susan Richard
son, and Dixie and Daphne Doll.