How do you connect inner city youth to agriculture? During the fall of 2017,  Sarah Stolz (horticulture agent), Don Sorrell (ANR agent) and Claire Linepensel, Campbell County 4-H Program Assistant,  offered Newport High School students the opportunity to visit local farms through a program we called Newport High School Agriculture and Horticulture 4-H Club. With only a few students (six) to sign up for this after school program we decided to move forward with our idea.  Most of these students had never been on a farm before, so they were very excited and nervous about touching farm animals (horses, goats, beef cattle and chickens) and seeing a variety of grain crops and horticulture crops growing in the field.  It was very rewarding for the students and for us as we watched their smiling faces as they experienced farm life in a small way. The most exciting and rewarding farm tour that they participated in was that of Tom Curry’s horse farm.  These inner city students really connected to the horses. With this in mind we decided to offer a 4-H Horse Club program to Newport High School students during the fall of 2018.

This time we were a little more successful as 14 students signed up for the Newport High School 4-H Horse Club. Don Sorrell coordinated this horse program that offered student both horse farm tours and after school classroom activities focusing on horses.  During the horse farm tours the students had the opportunity to groom, lead and ride a horse. Only three of the 14 students had ever ridden a horse. The classroom programs focus on the importance of horses, breeds of horses and what horses eat. These students also participated in an all-day trip to the KY Horse Park. There they experienced the best that KY has to offer in equine education.