BY CHRISTINE HAMILTON, FIELD EDITOR
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| North Carolina's coach Debbie Wentz leads her youth team through possible Horse Bowl questions. |
North Carolina repeated as Horse Bowl champions at the 2007 Ford AQHYA World Championship Show, but this time with an all-new team – Rebecca Bishopric, 18, Laura Hopper, 16, Katie Newton, 16, and Diane Royalty, 17.
Why do they enjoy this aspect of Ford Youth World competition?
“Because we love horses,” Rebecca said.
There were 13 teams in this year’s competition, with California and Illinois sending two teams each. The rounds went from 9 a.m. into the late afternoon.
To do well in horse bowl, teams have to study every aspect of their equine friends from anatomy to American Quarter Horse history and AQHA rules. In between rounds, youth and coaches studied books such as Western Horseman’s “Legends” series, the “Dictionary of Equine Terms,” and the “AQHA Official Handbook of Rules and Regulations.”
“These girls are exceptional,” said North Carolina’s stand-in coach, Debbie Wentz. The team’s regular coach, Lizzie Newton, was unable to come to Fort Worth, Texas. “They love the competition, too.”
Here’s a sample of the kinds of random questions the teams had to answer:
- How many pairs of muscles are necessary to move each ear of the horse?
- What is the term used for “difficulty in giving birth?”
Do you know the answers? Scroll down to see if you're right.
Answers:
- Five.
- dystocia
