Chautauqua County Youth Wins National Title

JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK (November 26, 2024) -- Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County’s 4-H Program is excited to announce the win of 4-H member Charlotte Couchman at the 2024 Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup.

The 2024 Eastern National Horse Roundup was held November 4, 2024 at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville, Kentucky. The competition hosted participants from 20 states, including 16 New York State 4-H members.

Youth competed in a variety of competitions including Communications, Horse Judging, Hippology (the study of horses), and Horse Bowl. They also had the opportunity to learn about Kentucky’s equine culture with tours of Churchill Downs, Spycoast Farm, and the Kentucky Horse Park.

Charlotte Couchman competed in the Public Speaking division of the Communications competition with a speech titled “Do You Have a License ForThat?”. Her ten-minute speech discussed finding the middle ground in keeping, riding, and working with horses.

The road to the Nationals is not an easy one. Couchman had to compete and qualify to move on at the County, Regional, and State competitions to make it to the National competition.

This is not Couchman’s first national win. She won the Individual Presentation division of the Communications competition at the 2023 Nationals with her PowerPoint Presentation on Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis, better known as EPM in the equine world. It is a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord of horses that is caused by a parasite spread in the feces of opossums.

Couchman is a 10-year member of the Chautauqua County Junior Trail Riders 4-H Club and is active in the 4-H Horse Project with her horses Ren and Goose. She competes in dressage and hunt seat with them and also enjoys working them at liberty or just spending time with them. She also competes in Horse Bowl and Hippology in 4-H and is active outside the 4-H realm in the Dressage4Kids program. She is a senior at Cassadaga Valley and after graduation is planning on going into the medical field.

The Chautauqua County 4-H Program is one of many programs offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County (CCE-Chautauqua). CCE-Chautauqua is a subordinate governmental agency with an educational mission that operates under a form of organization and administration approved by Cornell University as agent for the State of New York. It is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The association is part of the national cooperative extension system, an educational partnership between County, State, and Federal governments. As New York’s land grant university Cornell administers the system in this state. Each Cornell Cooperative Extension association is an independent employer that is governed by an elected Board of Directors with general oversight from Cornell. All associations work to meet the needs of the counties in which they are located as well as state and national goals. For more information, call 716-664-9502 or visit our website at www.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua. Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.

Last updated November 26, 2024