The 4-H Horse Club at the Pike Agriscience and Technical Career Academy will conduct its 2011-2012 awards ceremony at 1 p.m. Saturday at the academy.

All club members and their families, club friends and those interested in knowing more about the 4-H Horse Club are invited to attend.

“The summer kicks off a brand new year for the 4-H Horse Club so everything done from now until the end of the 2012-20123 school year will count toward the year-end awards,” said Monica Law, 4-H Horse Club leader. “At the awards ceremony on Saturday, I will be going over what all we did this year and talking about the things that are planned for next year. So, the awards ceremony is a good time for those who think they might be interested in becoming a member to come out and see what the 4-H Horse Club is all about.”

At 4 p.m. the 4-H Horse Club will host an open horse show as a fund-raiser for the club.

“Everyone who has a horse and enjoys riding and competing is invited to participate,” Law said. “The entry fee is $5 per event or $25 for the day. We’ll have about 11 events including the traditional timed events – barrel and pole racing and stake and arena racing, speed jumping. All of the events will be sanctioned by the state 4-H Horse Association. And we’ll have some events that are just fun events, like the egg and spoon race and the bloomer race. But all of the races will be on horseback.”

Law said the 4-H Horse show is a fun way for riders to practice with their horses and get them “tuned up” at a low cost event.

“You don’t have to have a horse to be a member of the 4-H Horse Club,” Law said. “If you like horses and being around the arena, you’ll enjoy being a member of our horse club. We have one member who likes photography and she is our club reporter and takes lots of pictures for us. There are all kinds of things you can do besides ride. Grooming the animals is one way to be involved.”

At the state horse show, there are many opportunities for “passive” participation.

“There are 4-H Horse Club members who participate as groomers, reporters, photographers and creative writers,” Law said. “If you enjoy working with horses or just being around them, there is a place for you.”

Even though the club is a horse club, the mission of 4-H Clubs is youth development.

“We are a 4-H Club and we emphasize stewardship, leadership and fellowship with the horse as our vehicle,” Law said.