Members of the 4-H Horse Club competed at the state horse judging contest earlier this month. The Wilkes County 4-H Horse Club competed in the 2007 horse judging competition held on May 5. The event was held at the University of Georgia equestrian facility on South Milledge Avenue in Athens.

Members of the junior team participating were Holley Burk, Anna Ezzell, Jonathan Wood, and Andrea Hill. The individual senior competitor was Karlee Fiest. The horse judging coach is Debbie Merkert.

Practices have been held weekly and often biweekly since February. The team also went to a judging clinic at Clemson University in March. In addition, the team was treated to an informative session on reining by Karl Luken in April.

The Wilkes team moved up one place from the previous year. The team from Bulloch County placed first in the junior competition and the senior team from Houston County placed first in its division. There were 17 teams competing in the junior section and 11 teams in the senior division.

Coach Merkert, the parents, and the entire Wilkes Cooperative Extension office are "certainly proud of the wonderful youth participants we have in our county!"