Their hard work will pay off during the annual Spartan Spectacular Arabian Horse Auction on April 23 at the MSU Horse Teaching and Research Center (HTRC) on Collins Road.

Paula Hitzler, HTRC manager, spends four months challenging students and horses to meet their potential through a course titled Show Horse Training and Conditioning.

“This year’s horses are very diverse,” Hitzler said. “We have everything from the perfect family horse to nice, high quality show horses to a broodmare that will have her foal a month after the sale.”

Matching the correct horse and rider is essential, and sometimes the right animal is not available for a buyer that year, Hitzler said. Now in her 16th year at the HRTC, Hitzler said buyers will return every year until they find the right horse.

A special animal offered this year is 17-year-old High Step. She is the oldest horse to be offered in a Spartan Spectacular sale, Hitzler said. High Step is a perfect family horse because of her extensive training and excellent temperament.

“Two hundred students have learned to ride on her,” Hitzler said. “Now it’s time for her to be a spoiled family horse.”

Buyers and spectators are welcome to experience the beauty of the horses and the knowledge of the students. An open house will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. on April 22. The sale day will begin with an open house at 11 a.m.; the live auction follows at 2 p.m.

For more information on the horses, visit www.msuarabians.com and click on “sale horses.” Interested buyers can contact Hitzler for more information at 517-355-7484 or phitzler@msu.edu

Northeastern FFA dairy teams finding early success
FOUNTAIN CITY, Ind. — The dairy judging teams from Northeastern Wayne FFA chapter, of Fountain City, Ind., have been warming up for another great year of competition. Members have attended three different invitational competitions this spring and have already found success.

At the North Miami invitational contest, the team of Marissa Hill, Samantha Hill, and Kristopher Hill placed first in the Junior Division. Sophomore Heather Hill placed second individually in the Senior division of the same contest. At the Western Boone Judging Invitational contest, senior Alex Nocton placed fifth in the individual competition.

The members of the Senior High Team are Heather Hill, Alex Nocton and Matt Berger. Junior High judgers are Randy DuVall, Marissa Hill, Samantha Hill and Kristopher Hill.

The Senior High team placed third at last year’s state competition and judged at the Pennsylvania All American Dairy Show last September where they were the high team in the Jersey breed and sixth place overall.

Miami East FFA students compete at state contests
CASSTOWN, Ohio — On April 1, members of the Miami East FFA Chapter competed in the State Career Development Events in Columbus. They demonstrated their skills in several areas.

Competing in the Equine Management Career Development Event were Amanda Werling, Raegan Wintrow, Ashley Dankworth, Whitney Wagner, and Chelsea Grinnell. The team placed 16th overall and Amanda Werling was the highest individual from Miami East.

Amanda Hill and Chris Heiss competed in the Agronomy Contest. They identified weeds, seeds, plant diseases, and pests. They also completed a soil survey activity and took a written test. The team placed 28th.

Competing in the General Livestock Judging Contest were Jake Coverstone and Kyle Havenar. They evaluated classes of sheep, hogs, and cattle. Jake Coverstone was the highest placing individual from Miami East.

Placing 33rd was the Dairy Cattle Judging Team, consisting of Keith Skaggs, Josh Hershberger, and Taler Mumford. The highest individual from Miami East was Keith Skaggs. They evaluated classes of cows and heifers, graded cows, and took a test.

This farm news was published in the April 19, 2006 issue of Farm World.