RAYMOND, Miss. -- A team of Union County 4-H members recently achieved a feat that has not been accomplished in 20 years for Mississippi competitors of the youth development organization’s national scholarly contests.

The Quiz Bowl Team, made up of Maddie Willard, Abby Grant, Levi Thompson and Karley Harrison, is one of just a few teams in the state to ever earn an undefeated first-place win in the Western National 4-H Roundup Horse Bowl competition. The Western National 4-H Roundup is held in Denver each January and includes multiple horse-related contests.

“I am very proud of all of us,” Grant said. “We worked toward it. We put in the effort. I’m proud of that and proud of us for not hating it while we were putting in all that work.”

Reaching the national competition takes many dedicated hours of individual and group study and competition at the local level. To compete in the national contest, teams must win their state horse bowl competitions.

“It is a major accomplishment just to be able to compete at the Western National 4-H Roundup,” said Gina Wills, Mississippi State University Extension Service 4-H agent in Union County, who coached the team along with Union County 4-H agent Lacy Hudspeth. “It’s an even bigger accomplishment to win. We have had teams win reserve, but this is the first time we have won the contest.”

During the double-elimination Jeopardy-style question-and-answer competition, teams demonstrate their in-depth knowledge about all topics related to horses, including nutrition, reproduction, physiology, breeds, color patterns, overall care, management, training, showing and more.

“I was super nervous, but it was definitely fun,” Grant said.

In a small room filled with an audience, the team completed multiple rounds against seven other teams from across the country. Each fast-paced round consists of 40 questions plus three bonus questions. Some questions are answered by individual members, and others can be answered with group input. Each correctly answered question earns points, and the team with the most points advances to the next round. A team that loses two rounds is eliminated.

 “It was definitely exciting and memorable,” Harrison said. “It was wild.”

What makes the young team’s win even more impressive is the competition they were up against.

“Ninety percent of the teams they competed against were made up of college-age members,” said Wills, pointing out that their team members are 15 and 16 years old. “Our team was by far one of the youngest teams there. Most of the other teams had been competing for a long time.”

Hours of studying and years of combined competition experience helped the team earn the high honor. However, this was the team’s first year to compete together. While Harrison is a veteran with seven years of horse bowl experience, the other members have been competing for only a year or two. Thompson has been involved in the contest for about two years, and Grant and Willard have been on the team for a year.

Dean Jousan, Extension 4-H livestock specialist and professor in the MSU Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences, said the win is a remarkable achievement on many levels.

“This is a great accomplishment for the team members, their families and coaches,” he said. “Teams do not acquire their knowledge of horses overnight. Successful teams spend years growing their knowledge base, helping to take them to the next level as a competitor.

“Not only do the youth have to be dedicated to the team, but the coaches must work to build a friendship among the team and find ways to encourage them to pursue excellence. It is easy to qualify for the national contest and take it easy, but the truly competitive teams have the drive to better themselves to represent Mississippi as best they can,” Jousan continued.

The team members said horse bowl is a fun way to learn about horses, which is something they all enjoy.

 “I used to show horses, but that really wasn’t my thing,” said Thompson, who first got into 4-H through showing poultry. “But I still love learning all about horses.”

Grant discovered 4-H through a friend after she was sidelined by a sports injury.

“I like that horse bowl is very structured,” she said. “There is one answer and only one answer. It helped me gain more knowledge about horses. But it’s also a good challenge and brings out my competitive side.”

Harrison, who said she was born into 4-H, is the only team member who shows horses.

“Doing horse bowl helped me learn more about my horses and gave me opportunities that I didn’t have before. I learned that veterinary science may be something I want to study in college,” Harrison said.

Willard, who shows cows, said she isn’t sure what she wants to study in college, but for now, she enjoys learning through these competitions.

Horse Classic contests are a good way for anyone to participate in 4-H.

“You don’t have to have a horse to do horse bowl,” Wills said. “You just have to want to learn about horses. It teaches you so much about the horse itself, veterinary science and animal science. It’s a great way to participate in 4-H if you don’t have a horse or any animals.”

Teams can only participate in each Horse Classic contest at the national level once, but team members are already planning which competition they want to strive for next. Willard said she plans to work toward the livestock bowl. Harrison is preparing to compete in horse public speaking, and Thompson and Grant have their sights set on the horse team demo contest.

A first for Mississippi 4-H

The Quiz Bowl Team was one of six Mississippi teams that competed in the Horse Classic contests. Other teams from across the state competed in judging, hippology, public speaking, individual demonstration and team demonstration.

The teams as a whole achieved the state’s first Overall High Point State Award. Teams accumulate points based on how they place in each contest. The state whose teams received the most points at the end of the contests are declared the Overall High Point state.

“In the past, Mississippi has placed in the Top 3 for this,” Jousan said. “This year, we won the High Point State Award, which has never been done.

“This is a testament to not only the successes of the horse bowl team, but to the dominance of all the Mississippi 4-H horse teams.”