Fall at Champaign Extension Brings the Launching of Horse SPIN Clubs

     This fall at the University of Illinois Extension office for Champaign County kept me very busy working on multiple projects. Fall is a busy time of the year for Extension in general because the new 4-H year starts September 1st, which gets a lot of clubs starting up again.

first club meeting for Golden Riders- Pesotum

first club meeting for Horsery- Mahomet

     This fall my two Horse SPIN Clubs, which were a summer project of mine both started in September. It was great to see all of my hard work from the summer pay off with the start of the clubs. It took major preparation in order to get these clubs successfully off of the ground. Before the first meeting I had to compile risk management plans, organize enrollment forms for members, promote the club to bring in  members, as well as keep in touch with our new leaders to work towards the start of the clubs. I also had to attend the first 2 meetings of both horse clubs to introduce myself, get to know the new members, as well as observe how the leaders interact with the youth, and to collect enrollment information. It was a great success to see how much the kids and leaders loved working together and learning about horses.

Golden Riders club member using grant items

     With the creation of these clubs we were able to apply for a SPIN Grant that would give us $1,000 to buy supplies for our horse clubs to allow our leaders to better teach the kids how to work with horses. Once we got this approved we were able to purchase supplies for grooming kits, as well as riding equipment for one of our move advanced horse clubs. The leaders and members were both equally excited to receive the equipment and get to really learn more about horses. As the clubs keep progressing we look forward to the Spring when we will hold a Fun Show for our 3 Horse SPIN Clubs that will allow all of the clubs to come together for a friendly competition to show off the skills they have learned and acquired during the past year. Planning for the Fun Show with the leaders of these clubs will be beginning soon.