Five youth from Stephenson County 4-H represented their county at the Illinois State 4-H Dog Show held Saturday, October 4, in Bloomington, Illinois. A total of 66 4-H members from across the state competed after earning qualifying scores at their respective county dog shows. Stephenson County 4-H members participated in their county show this past June in Freeport.
The 4-H Dog Project provides members with opportunities to build responsibility, patience, and communication while developing partnerships with their dogs. Members may compete in three types of classes: obedience, showmanship, and rally.
- In obedience classes, handlers guide their dogs through a series of commands and are scored on how well the dog follows directions.
- Showmanship focuses on the 4-H member’s presentation skills and understanding of their dog.
- Rally showcases teamwork between dog and handler as they navigate a course performing specific exercises.
The following Stephenson County 4-H members achieved outstanding results at the state event:
- Caleb Gillingham – 2nd place, Obedience Novice 2; 5th place, Rally Intermediate
- Rachel Gillingham – 1st place, Obedience Open; 1st place, Rally Advanced; 5th place, Rally Senior
- Chloee Huttenlocher – 1st place, Rally Novice 1
- Bennett Ogden-Moles – 1st place, Rally Novice 2
- Grace Maskell – Participant
These youth have shown dedication and perseverance, spending time training with their dogs to prepare for competition. Stephenson County 4-H extends a special thank-you to Dog Superintendents Tania Alich and Darlene Frederick for leading weekly training sessions from March through June, helping members build the skills and confidence needed to succeed in the show ring.
Stephenson County 4-H is proud of these members for their accomplishments and for representing their county with sportsmanship, enthusiasm, and hard work.
To learn more about local 4-H programs or to get involved, contact University of Illinois Extension – Stephenson County at 815-235-4125 or visit go.illinois.edu/SC4-H.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through six program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer science, integrated health disparities, and natural resources, environment, and energy.