Lincoln County’s FFA Horse Judging team has had a successful season thus far. Pictured here are (front, from left) Katie Mitchell, Jordyn Atkinson, Destiny Nichols, (rear) Sydney Williams, Baylee Parton, Brad Parton, Amber Gentry and Katilyn Lewter.

(reprinted from The Elk Valley Times)
The Lincoln County FFA Horse Judging team recently completed their fall Career Development Event.

Team members attended both contests and workshops since the start of this school year to enhance their evaluation skills. They participated in the Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration at the All Youth Day event on Aug. 24 in Shelbyville.

A variety of Tennessee Walking Horses classes were judged, including Country Pleasure, Western 2-gait, English 2-gait, In-Hand Mares, and In-Hand Geldings. The competition team also gave oral reasons defending how and why they placed the classes.

Team members were Jordan Dempsey, Jordyn Atkinson, Katie Mitchell, Sydney Williams and Cordell McCurry.

The team attended the Tennessee Tech Invitational at Tennessee Tech University on Sept. 5 in Cookeville.

Lincoln County placed second out of 39 teams in performance horse evaluation. Team members were Katilyn Lewter, Jordyn Atkinson, Katie Mitchell and Sydney Williams. Competing individually were Cordell McCurry and Destiny Nichols.

On Sept. 8, the team attended the Tennessee State Fair Open Horse Judging Contest in Nashville. Katilyn Lewter, Amber Gentry, Sydney Williams and Baylee Parton placed second out of 27 teams.

At the Tennessee State FFA CDE on Sept. 10 in Murfreesboro, there were 67 teams and 255 competitors. Lincoln County had an outstanding day with several high individuals. Sydney Williams placed 22nd, Katilyn Lewter placed 13th, Amber Gentry placed 11th and Baylee Parton placed fourth. The team placed second overall.

The FFA Horse Judging Team will continue to prepare for this spring’s contest in January and March by attending clinics, shows and workshops.