The drive to succeed gets reinforced as 4-H members compete through the years at the Ak-Sar-Ben 4-H Stock Show, state and county fairs and other livestock expositions.
Dustin Renken, 19, of Bertrand, Neb., has been showing horses, sheep, meat goats, swine and poultry since he joined 4-H at age 8. This weekend is his last Ak-Sar-Ben 4-H Show, and he is competing with broilers (chickens), market swine, market meat goats and market lambs.
Rules for 4-H competitions say that only those who are 18 or younger at the first of the year may compete. Since Renken had his 19th birthday later in the year he's still eligible through the end of 2011.
He's a sophomore at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, majoring in animal science, in the Honors Program of the College of Agriculture. He is a Regents Scholar, and he has Peter Kiewit Legacy and Susan Thompson Buffett Scholarships.
"Horse events are where I have really succeeded, but I've grown as an individual through all species," he said. "Each species is unique in terms of the knowledge and showmanship for each species, as well as the preparation that goes into each one."
At the Nebraska State 4-H Horse Expo in July Renken was grand champion Senior Horseman. It was his third top-10 finish in horsemanship there in the last four years. He was the champion Senior Horseman at the Ak-Sar-Ben 4-H Stock Show in 2008 and 2009. And those championships were the highlight of his 4-H work, he said.
"You'll do a brief pattern in front of the judge, followed by an inspection of your horse," Renken said. The horse was judged on conformation and Renken was judged on his ability to show off the attributes of the horse.
Renken's commitment to animal showmanship has grown through his years in 4-H. He has managed to win the showmanship championship award at his county fair for each of the animal species he has shown. He also won the champion goat showman award at the Nebraska State Fair about five years ago.
"It's a challenge to produce a quality product that we're proud of," he said. "We are building year upon year. We're investing in ourselves to be successful producers in the future. Plus, there's a great atmosphere around the show arenas. The friendships, connections and the networking you can make around the show rings is phenomenal."
He attended National 4-H Congress in Atlanta, Ga., in 2008 and the National 4-H Conference in Washington, D.C., in 2010. He is currently one of five Nebraska 4-H ambassadors; the ambassadors are college students who represent 4-H youth at public events in the state.
"I've made friends all around the country," he said. "It's just as much about developing interpersonal skills, public speaking, working with the public on agricultural issues."
Contact the writer:
402-444-1052, jane.palmer@owh.com
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