On Saturday, May 11th, 44 members of Ventura County 4-H attended an event called Ventura County 4-H Large and Small Animal Field Day. The Loma Vista, Conejo/Simi Valley, Santa Rosa Valley, Somis, Briggs, and Mupu 4-H clubs were all represented at the event this year. This event takes place each year in April or May, and the purpose of the event is for 4-H members all over Ventura County to test their knowledge about large and small animals by competing in various competitions. This year, the event was held at the Santa Rosa Clubhouse in Camarillo, California.
This was a long day for those who were competing, as check-in began at 7:00 a.m. After check-in concluded, the fun activities began. Due to the fact that this event had so many activities, it was two separate events in past years, with large animal events and small animal events happening on different days. However, since spring becomes so busy for 4-H events, it was decided that they would combine into one huge event this year.
Since there are so many activities at this event, there are two Project Development Committees (PDCs) needed to make this event a success. The Large Livestock PDC is responsible for planning all of the large animal activities at the event, and the Small Animal PDC is responsible for planning all of the small animal activities.
Some of the activities that the Large Livestock PDC planned were: goat showmanship, market lamb showmanship, 4-H uniform exchange, horse riding, table settings, poster competition, photography competition, and the Swine Bowl. Many 4-H members present at the event enjoyed watching the youth practice their large animal showmanship in front of the judge to be better prepared for the Ventura County Fair in August.
Another fun activity that happened involving large animals was the Swine Bowl. The six members that participated were divided into two teams of three. Both teams had a lot of fun while learning more about swine. 4-H members from the Briggs, Mupu, Somis, and Loma Vista 4-H clubs participated in the Swine Bowl.
The activities that the Small Animal PDC planned for the event included a rabbit showmanship workshop, rabbit hopping course, Rabbit Knowledge Bowl, cavy showmanship workshop, cavy racing course, and Dog Knowledge Bowl.
Other activities included Poultry Knowledge Bowl, Egg Knowledge Bowl, guest speakers from various organizations, a craft station, silent auction, animal senses station, and a community service station where members made dog toys out of clothes for animal shelters in Ventura County.
There were two guest speakers at the event who had their own booths. First, there was a group of guest speakers from Guide Dogs of America (GDA) talking about their experiences with the program, and how training puppies for the blind has impacted their lives.
The second guest speaker was a representative from the California Hamster Association talking about how rescuing hamsters has changed her life.
There were only two events that both the Large Livestock and Small Animal Sciences PDCs had in common: the photography poster contests. In the poster contest, members submitted posters that they had made about their chosen animal to show what they had learned. There were posters about many different kinds of animals including dogs, cats, poultry, rabbits, cavies, goats, market lambs, swine, and cattle. Members had to be currently enrolled in the particular animal project that they chose to make the poster about. Members participating in the photography contest did not have to currently be enrolled in their club's photography project to submit photos. Most of the photos were animals, but there were also some photos of buildings, cars, boats, flowers, and people.
After the event had already been taking place for several hours, it was then time to announce the awards at the awards ceremony. The names of the winners were read by Ventura County 4-H County Ambassadors Shelby Wright and Emily Santos of Somis 4-H.
Everyone who attended this event really appreciates the hard work and many hours of dedication that the Planning Development Committees (PDCs) put in to plan and execute their respective competitions. There were two people that made this year's event a smashing success: Mrs. Virginia H. Reyes, Club Leader of Briggs 4-H and the 2018-2019 Large Livestock PDC Chair who was responsible for planning all of the large animal activities, and Mrs. Amylynn Robinson of Conejo-Simi Valley 4-H who was the 2018-2019 Small Animal PDC Chair and responsible for planning all of the small animal activities. Without these two wonderful ladies, Ventura County 4-H could not have had this amazing event. Everyone at the event learned a lot about different kinds of animals, and all participants greatly benefited from all of the knowledge they gained. All the 4-H members were glad they attended the event and will use the knowledge that they gained to help other people and animals for years to come.