In 2023 we created the Equine Task Force, a leadership academy, for senior 4-H'ers in the horse program. The mission of the Task Force is to offer an advanced opportunity for senior level 4-H equine youth to further develop leadership and communication skills, and career exploration while representing and promoting the Kentucky 4-H Horse Program at the county, area, state, and regional levels. 

The Goals of the Task Force are: 

1. Develop an equine-related yearly passion project debated and voted on by members to complete and share at the state level
2. Increase equine knowledge
3. Booth/workshop at Kentucky Volunteer Forum
4. Lead networking and team building event(s) at state show

The task force provides the youth with the opportunity to network, to learn about the equine industry through immersive experiences offered in Kentucky, and to make a lasting impact on the Kentucky 4-H Horse Program through passion projects. 

This is a 2 year long program, with rotations occurring yearly to have a constant influx of new youth yearly, giving the second-year youth a leadership opportunity to show the 1st years “the ropes”.

 For the year 23-24, we had 12 members, and the program was a success. The youth visited multiple organizations and equine businesses, expanding their career exposure, including the Kentucky Horse Park, The KEEP day at the Capitol, the Red Mile and Kesmarc; created and presented educational lessons during the Volunteer Forum, helped during the state horse contests, and developed a fund raising campaign to cover their field trips. 

 For the future, the youth are interested in visiting other county clubs to recruit more members for the task force and have a bigger presence during the state contests and horse show.