Tioga County 4-H member takes top honors in statewide horse knowledge and public speaking competitions

Fourteen-year-old Tess Bergfjord, a Tioga County 4-H member in the Ranch Riders 4-H Club and the Hands-On Homeschoolers 4-H Club, has earned a top spot in two major New York State 4-H competitions.  

After rising through county level and then regional level competitions, her top scores earned her a place at state level to compete against the other most qualified youth from across New York.  

Bergfjord won first place in the 2020 New York State 4-H Horse Communications contest, which is a public speaking competition about horse-related topics. She then earned second place in the 2020 New York State 4-H Hippology competition, which tests participants’ knowledge of horses in every area from equine diseases to breeds and conformation.  

Tioga County 4-H is proud of Bergfjord for putting in the time and effort to become so successful in 4-H public speaking and horse knowledge.

Bergfjord, who is now beginning ninth grade as a homeschooler, has been a member of Tioga County 4-H for six years. She’s been competing in the 4-H Horse Communications program for five years.  

Horse Communications, which is part of the overall 4-H Public Presentations program, provides a way for youth to get experience speaking in front of a crowd and developing their own presentations on topics they are interested in.

Volunteer judges work together to score the presenters using 4-H’s public speaking evaluation system, and the presenters with the best scores at the Tioga County level move on to regional level. There, they compete against the top presenters from nine surrounding counties. The best speakers at that event move on to the New York State competition, which was held virtually this year.

Bergfjord won the 2020 competition in the junior level with a video of her presentation on Lyme disease in horses.  

“Public Presentations lets me improve my skills by getting really good feedback for my presentations,” said Bergfjord, adding, “It also gives me the opportunity to look deeper into a topic I am interested in.” 

This year Bergfjord chose to speak about Lyme disease because it is a serious, yet not highly discussed disease in horses.  

“I know so many people whose horses suffer greatly from Lyme,” added Bergfjord. “I wanted to try and expose the disease and really show how awful it is.”  

To watch Bergfjord’s winning presentation video, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3TxZWm2GRs.

After her outstanding results in New York State 4-H Horse Communications, Bergfjord competed in her favorite 4-H event of all: Hippology.  

Hippology is a competition that begins at regional level, with the top-scoring participants then moving on to states. The event tests 4-H members on their in-depth knowledge of horses. Youth must identify objects by explaining what they are used for in the equestrian world, and be able to judge horses correctly based on their conformation.  

Participants are expected to know different colorings, patterns, breeds, and riding disciplines, as well as the history of horses, their anatomy, and what diseases they are prone to.  

“The amount of diversity of questions and topics in the competition is amazing,” says Bergfjord. “You really can’t study for everything, and I always have things I can work on afterwards.”  

Despite the wide variety of topics to study for, she certainly puts in the effort.  Bergfjord works hard each year to study for the event, and has brought her scores higher and higher each year that she competes. This year, she placed second in New York State out of the 48 youth who qualified for the state-level competition.  

For Bergfjord, the time she puts into these horse-themed events is very worthwhile. 

“I’ve always been obsessed with horses. My dream is to get a job in the horse industry, and I hope the things I learn about now will help me in the future.”  Bergfjord grew up with horses, and first began riding at Hidden Farm in Apalachin with trainer Susan Deakin. She now rides competitively on the IEA team at Unity Stables, and will soon be showing her new Quarter Horse in the hunter ring.

Her 4-H Ranch Riders Club leader, Mary Gleason, stated, “Tess is driven to learn as much as she can about the equine world. She studies hard, works on horse farms, attends clinics and shows, and will cheerfully share her knowledge with others.”

Now that Bergfjord is entering high school, she’ll be eligible to work towards moving up to national 4-H competitions in the future.  

“There are varying opinions on the value of competition and whether it’s good for a person,” said her mother, Sara. “For Tess, I think it’s been invaluable. It’s pushed her to try harder, because she sees how the work pays off – not so much in regards to ‘beating someone else,’ but in how she can move her scores from last to first. It’s not chance. It’s focus and real time and work.”

“I hope to compete at the national levels through the upcoming years,” says Bergfjord. “There is always an opportunity to learn new and different things in 4-H.”

Tioga County 4-H provides youth with the tools and opportunities to develop their interests through hands-on learning, public speaking, and quiz-based programs.  4-H is committed to helping youth continue to grow, even through virtual opportunities and resources at this time.  

To learn more about 4-H and to get involved, email AGL79@cornell.edu or visit http://tioga.cce.cornell.edu/youth/4-h-youth-development. You can also contact the 4-H Office, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Tioga County, at 687-4020.