County Equestrians return from Big E with awards

Five Aroostook County Equestrians returned from this year’s Easter States Exposition with many ribbons to show for their hard work and dedication to their sport.
    Four veterans and one new member competed in West Springfield, Mass., against the best riders from New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. They accompanied 15 other riders and three teen leaders from throughout the state of Maine.
The trip began with tryouts in Skowhegan in June. After qualifying for the Maine State Equestrian Team, these riders prepared all summer for this fall’s match-up in Mass. Representing “The County” were Callie Foster, Desiree Foster, Brianna Hanington, Alyssa Kilcollins and Kimberly Levesque.
Leaving by bus as a team from Augusta, after loading their horses on transport trucks at 5:30 a.m., these equestrians began the long journey to the Big E. They arrived that afternoon, ready to move into the dorms and start preparing their horses for fitting and showmanship, which would begin early the next morning.
In her fourth time at the Big E veteran Hanington, riding C.A. Ultimate Legacy, showed her skill and confidence with placings of second in Fitting and Showmanship, third in Equitation, second for Western Handiness and sixth in Pleasure. She is also a member of the Maine State Quizbowl team and will comptete in October at the regionals to be held at the University of Vermont. Quizbowl is a competitive game of horse knowledge questions.
Hanington will also compete at nationals in Kentucky this November, along with teammate Callie Foster, leading the mounted drill team comprised of two equestrians from each state. The mounted drill team is coached by 4-H Wild Mustang leaders Kathy Russell along with Jean and Richard Sloat.
For her second trip to the Big E, Callie, riding Patricia Scamp, placed second in Pleasure, 10th in Equitation, ninth in Fitting and Showmanship and sixth in Western Handiness. For her Western Handiness pattern, adorned in a Batman costume and riding to Batman music, Foster treated the crowd by showing them how “Trish” can take a bow.
Desiree Foster, riding Tom Te Mac, in her second time at the Big E, placed third in Fitting and Showmanship, fourth in Pleasure, third for Bridle Path Hack and seventh in Equation. On Friday night of the competition, she had the privilege to be the representative from Maine as the mounted carrier of the American flag in the Opening Ceremonies. Foster is also a member of the Maine State Horse Judging team, which will compete at regionals in Vermont this month and nationals in Kentucky in November.
Kimberly Levesque in her first appearance at the Big E represented a new category to the competition: Horse Driving. She competed with her pony “Buddy” placing second in Equitation and fourth in Pleasure. Since 4-Hers are not allowed assistance from adults during competition, Levesque had to hitch her harness and prepare her cart for competition by herself. She also represented Maine on the Quizbowl team while at the Big E.
Another veteran of the Big E experience, Alyssa Kilcollins of Fort Fairfield, riding her quarter horse Clipper, placed second in Equitation, fifth in Fitting and Showmanship, fifth in Pleasure and tenth in Hunter Over Fences. She is a member of the Mane Eventers 4-H club.
The Maine State Equestrian team participated in the parade on Saturday, accompanying “Spuddy” the Maine potato. The girls also were seen showing their horses to young fairgoers and answering many questions from ones who had never even been up close to a horse.
4-H is one of the largest youth development programs in America with more than 6.5 million young people, ages 5-19, and 540,000 youth and adult volunteers. The fundamental 4-H ideal of practical, “learn by doing” experiences encourages youth to experiment, innovate and think independently. 4-H is operated and supported by a shared leadership of public and private partners including National 4-H Headquarters, USDA within the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service.
Eastern States Exposition, Home of the Big E, produces the largest fair in the northeast. A record attendance was set on the Thursday the Maine equestrians were there with 63,844 fairgoers passing through the gates. The Big E hosts over 3,000 4-H participants from the six New England states in a range of activities. Eastern States Exposition strives to make a positive difference in the lives of youth by developing their potential for leadership, growth and citizenship, providing an educational experience for urban and rural personas, especially youth, through programs and exhibitions designed to include local and regional participation, demonstration and competition.