Whitehorse Spirit Riders 4-H club kicked off a summer riding season with a three-day riding clinic at the North Ridge Indoor Riding Arena. The focus of the clinic was fundamental riding levels and team building.

The riders were fortunate to have Jody Mackenzie-Grieve as their local clinician. Jody has years of riding under belt and is a well-known horsewoman. As a certified Equine Canada coach, Jody brings along expertise from both her education and years of riding.

The team building activity this year was a drill ride done on horseback, in which horse and rider move in pattern. The club members benefitted from Cory Hoehn, retired RCMP Musical Ride Instructor, who taught the members all about teamwork through a drill ride exercise.

4-H is very grateful to have had the opportunity to use the North Ridge Indoor Riding Arena for our clinic.

The national 4-H program is a non-profit youth development organization. Its base is in agriculture; the club’s been around for over 100 years.

4-H provides members an opportunity to learn how to become productive, self-assured leaders who can make their community and country a good place in which to live. The objective of 4-H clubs is to develop knowledge, leadership, citizenship and personal development amongst youth.

The goals are accomplished through communication events, club activities, and managing a horse.

4-H members raise money each year to decrease personal cost of clinics and other activities. This year, the kids are promoting bee awareness through the national Proud to Bee a 4-H’er Campaign. Each member will be selling seed packets. In Whitehorse they are for sale at the Fireweed Community Market from Midnight Sun Alpacas.

Another big fundraiser is selling Fred, the 4-H pig. Gail Riederer and Dirk Caponder of Heart Bar Ranch graciously donated Fred, and Steve and Bonnie Mackenzie-Grieve of Yukon Grain Farm donated all of Fred’s feed.

The club members are raising Fred from weanling to a full-grown pig. Fred will be auctioned off at the final Fireweed Market at Shipyards Park, Thursday, September 11.

Plan to come and bid on Fred and support your local 4-H club.

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